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- DictionaryPlain/plān/
adjective
- 1. not decorated or elaborate; simple or ordinary in character: "good plain food" Similar simpleordinaryunadornedundecoratedunembellishedunornamentedunpretentiousunostentatiousunfussyhomelyhomespunbasicmodestunsophisticatedpenny plainwithout frillsstarkseverespartanausterechastebareunclutteredrestrainedmutedunpatternedpatternlesseverydayworkadayOpposite fancyelaborate
- ▪ without a pattern; in only one color: "a plain fabric"
- ▪ bearing no indication as to source, contents, or affiliation: "donations can be put in a plain envelope"
- 2. (of a person) having no pretensions; not remarkable or special: "a plain, honest man with no nonsense about him" Similar straightforwardunpretentioussimpleordinaryaverageunassumingunaffectedhonest-to-goodnessingenuousartlessguilelesssincerecracker-barrelOpposite pretentiousaffected
- ▪ (of a person) without a special title or status: "for years he was just plain Bill"
- 3. easy to perceive or understand; clear: "the advantages were plain to see" Similar obviousclearcrystal clearas clear as crystalevidentapparentmanifestpatentvisiblediscernibleperceptibleperceivablenoticeabledetectablerecognizableobservableunmistakabletransparentpalpabledistinctpronouncedmarkedstrikingconspicuousovertself-evidentindisputableas plain as a pikestaffstaring someone in the facewrit largewritten all over someoneas plain as dayplain to seebeyond (a) doubtbeyond questioninformal:as plain as the nose on one's facestanding/sticking out like a sore thumbstanding/sticking out a mile
- ▪ (of written or spoken usage) clearly expressed, without the use of technical or abstruse terms: "written in plain English" Similar intelligiblecomprehensibleunderstandablecoherentaccessibleuncomplicatedlucidperspicuousunambiguousclearsimplestraightforwardclearly expressedclear-cutdirectdigestibleuser-friendlyOpposite unclearobscure
- ▪ not using concealment or deception; frank: "he recalled her plain speaking" Similar candidfrankoutspokenforthrightplain-spokendirecthonesttruthfulbluntdownrightunvarnishedbaldstraight from the shoulderexplicitunequivocalinformal:upfrontarchaic:roundfree-spoken
- 4. (of a person) not beautiful or attractive: "the dark-haired, rather plain woman" Similar unattractiveunprepossessingas plain as a pikestaffuglyill-favoredunlovelyordinary-lookinghomelyinformal:not much to look atfuglyno oil paintinghuckeryOpposite attractivebeautifulgood-looking
- 5. sheer; simple (used for emphasis): "the main problem is just plain exhaustion" Similar sheerpuredownrightout-and-outunmitigatedranknothing other than
- 6. denoting or relating to a type of knitting stitch produced by putting the needle through the front of each stitch from left to right.
adverb
- 1. clearly; unequivocally (used for emphasis): informal "perhaps the youth was just plain stupid"
noun
- 1. a large area of flat land with few trees: "the coastal plain"
- ▪ another term for Great Plains
Word Origin Middle English: from Old French plain, from Latin planus, from a base meaning ‘flat’.
Derivatives
- 1. plainness noun
Scrabble Points: 7
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