Treating complex issues in a superficial way; overly simplified to the point of being misleading or naive.
Formed from simple plus the suffix -istic in the mid-20th century. Unlike 'simple' which can be positive, 'simplistic' was created specifically as a criticism of oversimplification.
Simplistic is a perfect example of how adding a suffix can completely change a word's emotional charge - while 'simple' can be praise, 'simplistic' is always an accusation, showing how language evolves to express increasingly nuanced judgments.
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