effortless

/ˈɛfərtləs/

/ˈɛfətlɪs/

Something effortless is easy to do — or at least appears that way. Great basketball players make scoring three-point shots look effortless. If you always know just what to wear, you have an effortless sense of style.

Effort is the work it takes to do something. Moving a couch and staying on a diet both require effort. If something is effortless, it takes no work at all to do. For example, lifting a feather is effortless. Writing may be effortless for some people, but difficult for others. Also, some things just look effortless. A great musician might make playing guitar sound effortless, but years of practice probably went into it. Experts make difficult things seem effortless.

Definitions of effortless

1. adjective

   requiring or apparently requiring no effort
   “the swallows glided in an effortless way through the busy air”

   synonyms:

   easy

   posing no difficulty; requiring little effort

   facile

   performing adroitly and without effort

   unforced, unstrained

   not resulting from undue effort; not forced

   antonyms:

   effortful

   requiring great physical effort

   difficult, hard

   not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure

   arduous, backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome

   characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort

   dragging

   marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner

   exhausting, tiring, wearing, wearying

   producing exhaustion

   heavy, labored, laboured

   requiring or showing effort

   labor-intensive, labour-intensive

   requiring a large expenditure of labor but not much capital

   leaden, plodding

   (of movement) slow and laborious

   Sisyphean

   both extremely effortful and futile

   arduous, straining, strenuous

   taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance
2. adjective

   not showing effort or strain
   synonyms: casual

   easy

   posing no difficulty; requiring little effort