PLAIN

plain, bare, spare, unembellished, unornamented

(adjective) lacking embellishment or ornamentation; “a plain hair style”; “unembellished white walls”; “functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete”

homely, plain

(adjective) lacking in physical beauty or proportion; “a homely child”; “several of the buildings were downright homely”; “a plain girl with a freckled face”

plain, unvarnished

(adjective) free from any effort to soften to disguise; “the plain and unvarnished truth”; “the unvarnished candor of old people and children”

apparent, evident, manifest, palpable, patent, plain, unmistakable

(adjective) clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment; “the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields”; “evident hostility”; “manifest disapproval”; “patent advantages”; “made his meaning plain”; “it is plain that he is no reactionary”; “in plain view”; “a palpable lie”

plain, unpatterned

(adjective) lacking patterns especially in color

plain

(adjective) not elaborate or elaborated; simple; “plain food”; “stuck to the plain facts”; “a plain blue suit”; “a plain rectangular brick building”

plain, sheer, unmingled, unmixed

(adjective) not mixed with extraneous elements; “plain water”; “sheer wine”; “not an unmixed blessing”

obviously, evidently, manifestly, patently, apparently, plainly, plain

(adverb) unmistakably (‘plain’ is often used informally for ‘plainly’); “the answer is obviously wrong”; “she was in bed and evidently in great pain”; “he was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list”; “it is all patently nonsense”; “she has apparently been living here for some time”; “I thought he owned the property, but apparently not”; “You are plainly wrong”; “he is plain stubborn”

knit, knit stitch, plain, plain stitch

(noun) a basic knitting stitch made by putting the needle through the front of the stitch from the lefthand side

plain, field, champaign

(noun) extensive tract of level open land; “they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain”; “he longed for the fields of his youth”

complain, kick, plain, sound off, quetch, kvetch

(verb) express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; “My mother complains all day”; “She has a lot to kick about”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Adjective

plain (comparative plainer, superlative plainest)

(now rare, regional) Flat, level. [from 14th c.]

Simple.

Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished. [from 14th c.]

Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.

Simple in habits or qualities; unsophisticated, not exceptional, ordinary. [from 16th c.]

(of food) Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras. [from 17th c.]

(computing) Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text). [from 20th c.]

Obvious.

Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable. [from 14th c.]

Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier). [from 14th c.]

Open.

Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt. [from 14th c.]

Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.

Not unusually beautiful; unattractive. [from 17th c.]

(card games) Not a trump.

Synonyms

• (lacking adornment or ornamentation): no-frills, simple, unadorned, unseasoned; see also bare-bones

• (of just one colour): monochrome

• (not exceptional): normal, ordinary

• (obvious): blatant, ostensible; see also obvious or explicit

• (intensifier): consarn, darned, stinking; see also damned

• (honest and without deception): frank, sincere; see also honest

Antonyms

• bells and whistles

• decorative

• exotic

• fancy

• ornate

Adverb

plain (not comparable)

(colloquial) Simply.

(archaic) Plainly; distinctly.

Etymology 2

Noun

plain (plural plains)

(rare, poetic) A lamentation.

Verb

plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)

(reflexive, obsolete) To complain. [13th-19th c.]

(ambitransitive, now, rare, poetic) To lament, bewail. [from 14th c.]

Etymology 3

Noun

plain (plural plains)

An expanse of land with relatively low relief, usually exclusive of forests, deserts, and wastelands.

Synonyms: flatland, grassland

Hypernyms: land, terrain

Hyponyms: prairie, steppe

(archaic) synonym of field in reference to a battlefield.

(obsolete) Alternative spelling of plane: a flat geometric field.

Usage notes

• As with grassland(s), flatland(s), plains can function as the plural of plain (There are ten principal low plains on Mars) or as its synonym (She lives in the plains), with a vague sense of greater expansiveness.

Verb

plain (third-person singular simple present plains, present participle plaining, simple past and past participle plained)

(obsolete, transitive) To level; to raze; to make plain or even on the surface.

(obsolete, transitive) To make plain or manifest; to explain.

Anagrams

• Aplin, Lipan, Palin, Pinal, in lap, lapin, plani-

Proper noun

Plain (plural Plains)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Plain is the 22246^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1159 individuals. Plain is most common among White (69.37%) and Black/African American (23.04%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Aplin, Lipan, Palin, Pinal, in lap, lapin, plani-

Source: Wiktionary

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Plain, v. i. Etym: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

Definition: To lament; to bewail; to complain. [Archaic & Poetic] Milton. We with piteous heart unto you pleyne. Chaucer.

Plain, v. t.

Definition: To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] Sir J. Harrington.

Plain, a. [Compar. Plainer; superl. Plainest.] Etym: [F., level, flat, fr. L. planus, perhaps akin to E. floor. Cf. Llano, Piano, Plan, Plane level, a level surface.]

1. Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. Isa. xl. 4.

2. Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair. Our troops beat an army in plain fight. Felton.

3. Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable. "'T is a plain case." Shak.

4. (a) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple. (b) Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common. "Plain yet pious Christians." Hammond. "The plain people." A. Lincoln. (c) Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank. "An honest mind, and plain." Shak. (d) Not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food. (e) Without beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman. (f) Not variegated, dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin. (g) Not much varied by modulations; as, a plain tune. Plain battle, open battle; pitched battle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

– Plain chant (Mus.) Same as Plain song, below.

– Plain chart (Naut.), a chart laid down on Mercator's projection.

– Plain dealer. (a) One who practices plain dealing. (b) A simpleton. [Obs.] Shak.

– Plain dealing. See under Dealing.

– Plain molding (Join.), molding of which the surfaces are plain figures.

– Plain sewing, sewing of seams by simple and common stitches, in distinct from fancy work, embroidery, etc.; -- distinguished also from designing and fitting garments.

– Plain song. (a) The Gregorian chant, or canto fermo; the prescribed melody of the Roman Catholic service, sung in unison, in tones of equal length, and rarely extending beyond the compass of an octave. (b) A simple melody.

– Plain speaking, plainness or bluntness of speech.

Syn.

– Level; flat; smooth; open; artless; unaffected; undisguised; frank; sincere; honest; candid; ingenuous; unembellished; downright; blunt; clear; simple; distinct; manifest; obvious; apparent. See Manifest.

Plain, adv.

Definition: In a plain manner; plainly. "To speak short and pleyn." Chaucer. "To tell you plain." Shak.

Plain, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. plaigne, F. plaine. See Plain, a.]

1. Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies. Descending fro the mountain into playn. Chaucer. Him the Ammonite Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain. Milton.

2. A field of battle. [Obs.] Arbuthnot. Lead forth my soldiers to the plain. Shak.

Plain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plained (; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaining.] Etym: [Cf. Plane, v.]

1. To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface. [R.] We would rake Europe rather, plain the East. Wither.

2. To make plain or manifest; to explain. What's dumb in show, I'll plain in speech. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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