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EASY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: easied , easier , easiest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Obtained with little effort or sacrifice, often obtained illegally
Example:
easy money
Classified under:
Similar:
abundant (present in great quantity)
Domain category:
economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Less in demand and therefore readily obtainable
Example:
commodities are easy this quarter
Classified under:
Similar:
available (obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service)
Domain category:
economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
Example:
wanton behavior
Synonyms:
easy; light; loose; promiscuous; sluttish; wanton
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unchaste (not chaste)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Affording comfort
Example:
soft light that was easy on the eyes
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
comfortable; comfy (providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief ('comfy' is informal))
Sense 5
Meaning:
Posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
Example:
took the easy way out of his dilemma
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
user-friendly (easy to use)
smooth (lacking obstructions or difficulties)
painless (requiring little hard work or exertion)
hands-down (achieved without great effort)
elementary; simple; uncomplicated; unproblematic (easy and not involved or complicated)
cushy; easygoing; soft (not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship)
clean (without difficulties or problems)
casual; effortless (not showing effort or strain)
Also:
undemanding (requiring little if any patience or effort or skill)
effortless (requiring or apparently requiring no effort)
soft (compassionate and kind; conciliatory)
simple (having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved)
Attribute:
ease; easiness; simpleness; simplicity (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)
Antonym:
difficult (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Derivation:
easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Free from worry or anxiety
Example:
by the time the child faced the actual problem of reading she was familiar and at ease with all the elements words
Classified under:
Adjectives
Also:
relaxed (without strain or anxiety)
comfortable (free from stress or conducive to mental ease; having or affording peace of mind)
Antonym:
uneasy (lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance)
Derivation:
easiness (a feeling of refreshing tranquility and an absence of tension or worry)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Marked by moderate steepness
Example:
a gentle slope
Synonyms:
easy; gentle
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
gradual ((of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt)
Derivation:
easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Having little impact
Example:
a soft (or light) tapping at the window
Synonyms:
easy; gentle; soft
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
light (of little intensity or power or force)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Not hurried or forced
Example:
at a leisurely (or easygoing) pace
Synonyms:
easy; easygoing; leisurely
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unhurried (relaxed and leisurely; without hurry or haste)
Derivation:
easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Affording pleasure
Example:
easy good looks
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction)
Sense 11
Meaning:
In fortunate circumstances financially; moderately rich
Example:
well-to-do members of the community
Synonyms:
comfortable; easy; prosperous; well-fixed; well-heeled; well-off; well-situated; well-to-do
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
rich (possessing material wealth)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Readily exploited or tricked
Example:
an easy mark
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
impressible; impressionable; waxy (easily impressed or influenced)
II. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
With ease ('easy' is sometimes used informally for 'easily')
Example:
success came too easy
Synonyms:
easily; easy
Classified under:
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Sense 2
Meaning:
In a relaxed manner; or without hardship
Example:
the judge went easy on the young defendant
Synonyms:
easy; soft
Classified under:
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Pertainym:
easy (posing no difficulty; requiring little effort)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Without speed ('slow' is sometimes used informally for 'slowly')
Example:
please go slow so I can see the sights
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adverbs
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Context examples:
Called “expansion microscopy,” that process involves injecting a material into a gel and then making it larger and therefore easier to see.
(Researchers Use Laser to Shrink Objects to Nanoscale, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had given him up for dead.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Biologist Scott Mills of the University of Montana, who began studying snowshoe hares in the 1990s, says finding them has become much easier as average winter snow duration has decreased over time.
(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)
The new technology, resulting from a study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, shows high potential as the basis for an inexpensive, easy malnutrition test in the field.
(Test for life-threatening nutrient deficit is made from bacteria entrails, National Science Foundation)
Two easy chairs stood side by side at the head of the table, in which sat Beth and her father, feasting modestly on chicken and a little fruit.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
It may increase the amount of oxygen in cancer cells, which may make them easier to kill with radiation therapy.
(Carbogen, NCI Dictionary)
The tumor is not always easy to find.
(Cancer and Pregnancy, NIH)
A question about whether an individual's breathing is or was easy.
(Breathing is Easy, NCI Thesaurus)
The BPI uses simple numeric rating scales from 0 to 10 that are easy to understand and easy to translate into other languages.
(Brief Pain Inventory, NCI Thesaurus)
But it's not always easy to know when your child has a serious problem.
(Child Mental Health, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)
