plain

1 of 5

adjective

ˈplān 

1

: lacking ornament : undecorated

2

: free of extraneous matter : pure

3

: free of impediments to view : unobstructed

4

a(1)

: evident to the mind or senses : obvious

it's perfectly plain that they will resist

(2)

: clear

let me make my meaning plain

b

: marked by outspoken candor : free from duplicity or subtlety : blunt

plain talk

5

a

: belonging to the masses : common

b

: lacking special distinction or affectation : ordinary

6

: characterized by simplicity : not complicated

plain home-cooked meals

7

: lacking beauty or ugliness

8

archaic : even, level

plainly adverb

plainness

ˈplān-nəs 

noun

plain

2 of 5

noun

1

a

: an extensive area of level or rolling treeless country

b

: a broad unbroken expanse

2

: something free from artifice, ornament, or extraneous matter

plain

3 of 5

adverb (1)

: in a plain manner : without obscurity or ambiguity

saw them clearly and told you plain

—Amer. Documentation

plain

4 of 5

adverb (2)

: absolutely sense 1a

plain wrong

plain

5 of 5

verb

plained; plaining; plains

intransitive verb

archaic

: complain

Synonyms

Adjective

• bald
• bare
• naked
• plain-vanilla
• simple
• unadorned
• undecorated
• unembellished
• unornamented
• unvarnished

Noun

• campo
• champaign
• down(s)
• grassland
• heath
• lea
• ley
• llano
• moor
• pampa
• prairie
• savanna
• savannah
• steppe
• tundra
• veld
• veldt

Adverb (1)

• directly
• forthrightly
• foursquare
• plainly
• straight
• straightforward
• straightforwards
• straightforwardly

Choose the Right Synonym for plain

common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual.

common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence

a common error

lacked common honesty

and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

common manners

ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day

a very ordinary sort of man

plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

evident, manifest, patent, distinct, obvious, apparent, plain, clear mean readily perceived or apprehended.

evident implies presence of visible signs that lead one to a definite conclusion.

an evident fondness for sweets

manifest implies an external display so evident that little or no inference is required.

manifest hostility

patent applies to a cause, effect, or significant feature that is clear and unmistakable once attention has been directed to it.

patent defects

distinct implies such sharpness of outline or definition that no unusual effort to see or hear or comprehend is required.

a distinct refusal

obvious implies such ease in discovering that it often suggests conspicuousness or little need for perspicacity in the observer.

the obvious solution

apparent is very close to evident except that it may imply more conscious exercise of inference.

for no apparent reason

plain suggests lack of intricacy, complexity, or elaboration.

her feelings about him are plain

clear implies an absence of anything that confuses the mind or obscures the pattern.

a clear explanation

frank, candid, open, plain mean showing willingness to tell what one feels or thinks.

frank stresses lack of shyness or secretiveness or of evasiveness from considerations of tact or expedience.

frank discussions

candid suggests expression marked by sincerity and honesty especially in offering unwelcome criticism or opinion.

a candid appraisal

open implies frankness but suggests more indiscretion than frank and less earnestness than candid.

open in saying what they think

plain suggests outspokenness and freedom from affectation or subtlety in expression.

plain talk

Examples of plain in a Sentence

Adjective

It was a plain room with no curtains.

She was wearing plain black shoes.

He printed the picture on plain paper.

a piece of plain chicken

You don't have to call me Mr. Johnson—just plain Fred will be fine.

What he said is a lie, plain and simple.

Noun

the Great Plains of the United States

the first settlers in that area lived on the vast plains in lonely log cabins

Adverb (1)

told her plain that he loved her

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

These are all radical Islamic terrorist organizations, plain and simple. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

The service includes a selection of tea sandwiches, including pickled cucumber, Scottish smoked salmon, and Clarence Court egg, as well as a mix of plain and cranberry scones. —Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 11 Dec. 2024

Noun

The lake was a white plain with patches of dark timber on the far shore. —Wilson H. Stover, Outdoor Life, 5 Dec. 2024

What a 1,000-mile railway across the Yucatán jungle says about Mexico’s outgoing president Sept. 29, 2024 The canal networks were built as early as 4,000 years ago by semi-nomadic people in the Yucatan coastal plain. —Christina Larson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Nov. 2024

Adverb

As Eve says to Adam: His fraud is then thy fear, which plain infers Thy equal fear that my firm faith and love Can by his fraud be shaken or seduced. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

Normally, encountering that many smiling faces might seem a bit suspect, but people are just plain happy. —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 16 Dec. 2024

Verb

People start dying around Delia, but the bloodless kill scenes are so toned down for TV that two of her victims just succumb to plain old heart attacks. —Josh Bell, Vulture, 5 Apr. 2024

Senior reviewer Scott Gilbertson's daughter has worn these for two years— everywhere from the icy, windy Colorado plains to the windswept Outer Banks—and she's had toasty toes throughout. —Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin planum, from neuter of planus flat, plain — more at floor

Adverb (2)

partly from Middle English plein entire, complete, from Anglo-French, full, from Latin plenus; partly from plain entry 3 — more at full

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French pleindre, plaindre, from Latin plangere to lament — more at plaint

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 8

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adverb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing plain

• abyssal plain
• (as) plain as day
• (as) plain as the nose on your face
• in plain sight
• in plain view
• just plain folks
• make it plain
• plain chocolate
• plain clothes
• plain flour
• plain Jane
• plain-laid
• plain sailing
• plain-vanilla
• plain weave
• plain-woven

Kids Definition

plain

1 of 4 noun

ˈplān 

: a broad area of level or rolling treeless country

plain

2 of 4 adjective

1

: having no pattern or decoration

her dress was plain

2

: free of added or extra matter : pure

a glass of plain water

3

: open and clear to the sight

in plain view

4

a

: clear to the mind

your meaning was plain

b

: frank, blunt

plain speaking

5

a

: of common or average accomplishments or position : ordinary

plain people

b

: not complicated or hard to do

plain sewing

6

: neither ugly nor beautiful

plainly adverb

plainness

ˈplān-nəs

noun

plain

3 of 4 adverb

: in a plain or simple manner

plain

4 of 4 adverb

: to a complete degree : totally

were plain overcome by all the problems

Etymology

Noun

Middle English plain "a stretch of nearly level treeless country," from early French plain (same meaning), derived from Latin planus "flat" — related to plane entry 1

Adverb

partly from Middle English plein (adjective) "entire, complete" (derived from Latin plenus "full") and partly from plain (adverb) "in a plain manner" (derived from Latin planus "flat, level")