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   plain

   /pleɪn/

   adjective

   • 1. not decorated or elaborate; simple or basic in character: "good plain food" Similar simpleordinaryunadornedundecoratedunembellishedunornamentedunpretentiousunostentatiousunfussyhomelyhomespunbasicmodestunsophisticatedpenny plainwithout frillsstarkseverespartanausterechastebareunclutteredrestrainedmutedunpatternedpatternlesseverydayworkadayOpposite fancyelaborate
   • ▪ without a pattern; in only one colour: "a plain fabric"
   • ▪ (of paper) without lines.
   • ▪ bearing no indication as to contents or affiliation: "donations can be put in a plain envelope"
   • 2. 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: "an insurance policy written in plain English" Similar intelligiblecomprehensibleunderstandablecoherentaccessibleuncomplicatedlucidperspicuousunambiguousclearsimplestraightforwardclearly expressedclear-cutdirectdigestibleuser-friendlyOpposite unclearobscure
   • ▪ not using concealment or deception; frank: "there were indrawn breaths at such plain speaking" Similar candidfrankoutspokenforthrightplain-spokendirecthonesttruthfulbluntdownrightunvarnishedbaldstraight from the shoulderexplicitunequivocalinformal:upfrontarchaic:roundfree-spoken
   • 4. (of a person) not beautiful or attractive: "a plain, round-faced woman" Similar unattractiveunprepossessingas plain as a pikestaffuglyill-favouredunlovelyordinary-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. used for emphasis: "perhaps the youth was just plain stupid"
   • 2. clearly or unequivocally: "I'm finished with you, I'll tell you plain"

   noun

   • 1. a large area of flat land with few trees: "the coastal plain"

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French plain, from Latin planus, from a base meaning ‘flat’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. plainness noun

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • P

     3

   • L

     1

   • A

     1

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

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