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Pet Peeve

When folks use the word “Simplistic” when “Simple” will do just as well, and sound significantly less contrived.

sim·plis·tic
Pronunciation: sim-’plis-tik
Function: adjective
1 : SIMPLE
2 : of, relating to, or characterized by simplism : OVERSIMPLE
- sim·plis·ti·cal·ly /-ti-k(&-)lE/ adverb
3: To sound like a jackass because you’re sloppy with your diction.

Why do folks use of simple? Does it sound more high-techy?
Compare “I have simplistic standards and goals.” to “I have simple standards and goalss”.

Doesn’t it seem silly to make the pronunciation or use of “simple” more complicated?

This excerpt from Here resonates with my peevishness re: misuse

Simplistic (adjective)
Definition: Misleadingly simple; overly simplifying or oversimplified.

Usage: Today’s word is more and more confused with the word it is derived from “simple”—they don’t mean the same thing. “Simplistic” usually refers to an explanation that is too simple to work. It is the adjective for simplism “oversimplification,” often made by simplists (though simpletons tend to do the same thing).

Suggested Usage: Today’s word usually describes an explanation: “I’m afraid your explanation of the Earth as a plate riding on the back of a giant turtle is too simplistic.” However, other acts based on explanations or understandings may be covered by the same sense, “Your expectation to succeed in politics on the basis of your intelligence is simply simplistic.”

Etymology: From Latin simplus and simplex “simple.” The original root was Proto-Indo-European sem- “one,” found in Greek heis (from *hem-s) “one” and homos “same.” English “simultaneous” comes from Latin simul “at one time,” and the root is hidden in “assemble” and “ensemble,” too. “Some” comes from Old English sum “one, a certain one” and the suffix –some (e.g. “handsome,” “lonesome”) comes from Old English sum “like”—both from this root. The second element in “simplus” is related to Latin plicare, Greek plekein “to fold” (compare Russian plesti “to braid” and English “pleat”), so the original meaning was something like “one-fold,” as in “two-fold,” “manifold.” (We are simply delighted that Mary Jane Stoneburg of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, focused our awareness on the proper use of today’s word.)

According to my editor, simple is an adjective describing an attribute of the subject. A “simple solution”, for example. “Simplisctic” describes a deliberate attempt at keeping things simple, such as the “simplistic approach”, which is different from a “simple approach”, in that it is a consciously sought way, rather than a presented one.

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