plain (pl n)adj. plain·er, plain·est 1. Free from obstructions; open; clear: in plain view. 2. Obvious to the mind; evident: make one's intention plain. See Synonyms at apparent. 3. Not elaborate or complicated; simple: plain food. 4. Straightforward; frank or candid: plain talk. 5. Not mixed with other substances; pure: plain water. 6. Common in rank or station; average; ordinary: a plain man. 7. Not pretentious; unaffected. 8. Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration. 9. Not dyed, twilled, or patterned: a plain fabric. 10. Lacking beauty or distinction: a plain face. 11. Sheer; utter; unqualified: plain stupidity. 12. Archaic Having no visible elevation or depression; flat; level. n. 1. a. An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land. b. A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare. 2. Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter. adv. Informal Clearly; simply: plain stubborn. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pl nus; see pel -2 in Indo-European roots.]plain  ly adv.plain ness n.Synonyms: plain, modest, simple, unostentatious, unpretentious These adjectives mean not ornate, ostentatious, or showy: a plain hairstyle; a modest cottage; a simple dark suit; an unostentatious office; an unpretentious country church. Antonym: ornate |
plain
Adjective
1. flat or smooth
2. easily understood: he made it plain what he wanted from me
3. honest or blunt: the plain fact is that my mother has no time for me
4. without adornment: a plain brown envelope
5. not good-looking
6. (of fabric) without pattern or of simple weave
7. lowly, esp. in social rank or education: the plain people of Ireland
8. Knitting of or done in plain stitch
Noun
1. a level stretch of country
2. a simple stitch in knitting made by passing the wool round the front of the needle
Adverb
clearly or simply: that's just plain stupid! [Latin planus level, clear]
plainly adv
plainness n
plainness n
| plain (pln) 1. An extensive, relatively level area of land. Plains are present on all continents except Antarctica and are most often located in the interior regions. Because they can occur at almost any altitude or latitude, plains can be humid and forested, semiarid and grass-covered, or arid. 2. A broad, level expanse, such as an area of the sea floor or a lunar mare. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  plain - extensive tract of level open land; "they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"; "he longed for the fields of his youth"flat - a level tract of land; "the salt flats of Utah" flood plain, floodplain - a low plain adjacent to a river that is formed chiefly of river sediment and is subject to flooding dry land, ground, solid ground, terra firma, earth, land - the solid part of the earth's surface; "the plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land"; "the earth shook for several minutes"; "he dropped the logs on the ground" llano - an extensive grassy and nearly treeless plain (especially in Latin America) peneplain, peneplane - a more or less level land surface representing an advanced stage of erosion undisturbed by crustal movements snowfield - a permanent wide expanse of snow steppe - extensive plain without trees (associated with eastern Russia and Siberia) tundra - a vast treeless plain in the Arctic regions where the subsoil is permanently frozen |
| 2. | plain - a basic knitting stitch knitting stitch - a stitch taken in knitting | |
| Verb | 1. | plain - express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about" hen-peck, nag, peck - bother persistently with trivial complaints; "She nags her husband all day long" gnarl, grumble, murmur, mutter, croak - make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath; "she grumbles when she feels overworked" grouch, grumble, scold - show one's unhappiness or critical attitude; "He scolded about anything that he thought was wrong"; "We grumbled about the increased work load" protest - utter words of protest repine - express discontent beef, bellyache, bitch, gripe, grouse, squawk, holler, crab - complain; "What was he hollering about?" bemoan, bewail, deplore, lament - regret strongly; "I deplore this hostile action"; "we lamented the loss of benefits" report - complain about; make a charge against; "I reported her to the supervisor" bleat - talk whiningly |
| Adj. | 1. | plain - 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" obvious - easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind; "obvious errors" |
| 2. | plain - not elaborate or elaborated; simple; "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building" unadorned, undecorated - not decorated with something to increase its beauty or distinction unpretentious - lacking pretension or affectation; "an unpretentious country church"; "her quiet unpretentious demeanor" unrhetorical - not rhetorical simple - having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved; "a simple problem"; "simple mechanisms"; "a simple design"; "a simple substance" fancy - not plain; decorative or ornamented; "fancy handwriting"; "fancy clothes" | |
| 3. |  plain - lacking patterns especially in colorpatterned - having patterns (especially colorful patterns) | |
| 4. |  plain - not mixed with extraneous elements; "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"pure - free of extraneous elements of any kind; "pure air and water"; "pure gold"; "pure primary colors"; "the violin's pure and lovely song"; "pure tones"; "pure oxygen" | |
| 5. |  plain - free from any effort to soften to disguise; "the plain and unvarnished truth"; "the unvarnished candor of old people and children"direct - straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct approach" | |
| 6. |  plain - lacking embellishment or ornamentation; "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"unadorned, undecorated - not decorated with something to increase its beauty or distinction | |
| 7. | plain - lacking in physical beauty or proportion; "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face" unattractive - lacking beauty or charm; "as unattractive as most mining regions" | |
| Adv. | 1. | plain - 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" colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
plain
adjective 1. unadorned, simple, basic, severe, pure, bare, modest, stark, restrained, muted, discreet, austere, spartan, unfussy, unvarnished, unembellished, unornamented, unpatterned << OPPOSITE ornate
adjective 2. clear, obvious, patent, evident, apparent, visible, distinct, understandable, manifest, transparent, overt, unmistakable, lucid, unambiguous, comprehensible, legible << OPPOSITE hidden
adjective 3. straightforward, open, direct, frank, bold, blunt, sincere, outspoken, honest, downright, candid, forthright, upfront (informal) artless, ingenuous, guileless << OPPOSITE roundabout
adjective 4. ugly, ordinary, unattractive, homely U.S., Canad. not striking, unlovely, unprepossessing, not beautiful, no oil painting (informal) ill-favoured, unalluring << OPPOSITE attractive
adjective 5. ordinary, homely, common, simple, modest, everyday, commonplace, lowly, unaffected, unpretentious, frugal, workaday << OPPOSITE sophisticated
Translations
plain [pleɪn] adj (= clear) → claro, evidente (= simple); sencillo (= frank); franco, abierto (= not handsome); poco atractivo (= pure); natural, puro
adv → claramente
plain [pleɪn] adj (= in one colour) → uni(e) (= clear); clair(e) → évident(e) (= simple); simple, ordinaire (= frank); franc(franche) (= not handsome); quelconque, ordinaire; [cigarette] → sans filtre (= without seasoning etc); nature inv
adv → franchement, carrément
n → plaine f;
in plain clothes [police] → en civil;
to make sth plain to sb → faire clairement comprendre qch à qn
plain [pleɪn] adj (= unpatterned) → einfarbig (= simple); einfach, schlicht (= clear, easily understood); klar (= not beautiful); unattraktiv (= frank); offen
adv [wrong, stupid etc] → einfach
n (area of land) → Ebene f;
to make sth plain to sb → jdm etw klarmachen
plain [pleɪn] adj (= clear) → chiaro/a, palese (= simple); semplice (= frank); franco/a, aperto/a (= not handsome); bruttino/a (= without seasoning etc); scondito/a; naturale (= in one colour); tinta unita inv
adv → francamente, chiaramente
n → pianura;
to make sth plain to sb → far capire chiaramente qc a qn;
in plain clothes [police] → in borghese
adj plain [plein]
1 simple or ordinary; without ornament or decoration plain living; good, plain food. eenvoudig بَسيط، عادي равен jednoduchý, prostý enkel einfach απλός, σκέτος sencillo; liso; sin ornamentos; llano (persona) lihtne ساده yksinkertainen simple פָּשוּט सादा jednostavan,priprost egyszerű; sima sederhana einfaldur, látlaus semplice 簡素な 간소한, 소박한 paprastas, kuklus vienkāršs ringkas eenvoudig enkel, alminnelig, vanlig zwykły, prosty simples simplu простой jednoduchý preprost običan enkel, vanlig ธรรมดา sade 簡樸的 простий; звичайний سادہ đơn sơ; giản dị 简朴的
2 easy to understand; clear His words were quite plain. verstaanbaar سَهْل الفَهْم، واضِح ясен jasný ligetil klar σαφής, ξεκάθαρος claro, evidente arusaadav قابل درک selkeä clair בָּרוּר सुस्पष्ट jasan világos jelas augljós, greinilegur, auðskilinn chiaro 明白な 명료한; 알기 쉬운 aiškus, suprantamas skaidrs; saprotams jelas duidelijk klar, tydelig zrozumiały simples clar понятный jasný jasen razumljiv klar, tydlig เข้าใจง่าย açık, basit 明白的 зрозумілий; явний آسان dễ hiểu 明白的
3 absolutely open or honest, with no attempt to be tactful I'll be quite plain with you; plain speaking. eerlik صَريح وصادِق честен upřímný åben; ærlig ehrlich ειλικρινής, έντιμος franco otsekohene رک suora franc גָלוּי साफ और ईमानदार prirodan egyenes jujur hreinskilinn franco 率直な 솔직한 atviras, tiesus tiešs; atklāts terus-terang eerlijk oppriktig, likefram szczery, otwarty franco sincer откровенный úprimný odkrit otvoren ärlig, uppriktig ตรงไปตรงมา dürüst, açık 坦誠的 відвертий, прямий صاف گو thật thà 坦诚的
4 obvious It's plain (to see) you haven't been practising your music. duidelik واضِح явен zřejmý, jasný indlysende; tydelig klar ολοφάνερος claro, evidente ilmne واضح ilmeinen évident, clair בָּרוּר स्पष्ट očit nyilvánvaló jelas greinilegur chiaro, evidente 明らかな 명백한 aiškus, akivaizdus skaidrs; acīmredzams nampak sangat duidelijk tydelig, klar oczywisty claro evident, clar очевидный jasný očiten očigledan uppenbar ชัดแจ้ง açık, belirgin 明顯的 ясний, очевидний ظاہر rõ ràng 明显的
5 not pretty a rather plain girl. vaal بَسيط، خالٍ من الجَمال обикновен nehezký almindelig unscheinbar ασχημούλης común, ordinario, poco atractivo, feúcho, poco agraciado tavaline بی تعریف؛ زشت tavallisen näköinen quelconque לא יָפֶה खुबसूरत नहीं ružan nem csinos tidak cantik ófríður insignificante, comune 器量のよくない 수수한 negražus neizskatīgs biasa lelijk lite pen nieładny sem graça oarecare некрасивый nepekný puščoben ružan alldaglig, slätstruken, ful ไม่สวย sevimsiz, güzel değil (相貌等)平常的 некрасивий قبول صورت xấu （相貌等）平常的
n
1 a large flat level piece of land the plains of central Canada. vlakte سَهْل، أرض مُنْبَسِطَه равнина planina slette das Flachland πεδιάδα llanura tasandik دشت tasanko plaine מִישוֹר मैदानी इलाका ravnica,poljana síkság dataran slétta pianura 平原 평원 lyguma, plokštuma līdzenums dataran vlakte slette, flate, vidde równina planície câmpie равнина planina ravnina ravnica slätt ที่ราบ ova 平原 рівнина ميداني علاقہ đồng bằng 平原
2 a kind of knitting stitch. aweregse breiwerk غَرْزَة مَعْكوسَة الحِياكَه сърмени конци oko pletené obrace vrangmaske das Linksstricken ανάποδη θηλιά punto del revés pöördpiste دانه ی رو nurja silmukka à l'envers maille סְרִיגַת שְׂמֹאל सोने का तार ravan bod fordított szem (kötésben) setik rajutan brugðningur punto rovescio 裏編み (편물의) 안뜨기 išvirkščia akis kreiliskais valdziņš jahit purl averechtse steek vrangmaske (rodzaj ściegu) ponto reverso fir двухлицевое вязание obrátené očko leva petlja bod avig [] ลายการถักนิตติ้ง ters örgü (編織法中的)反針，倒針 галун, вишивка زري کا کام mũi đan móc （编织法中的）反针，倒针
adv plainly
duidelik بِوُضوح، بِصَراحَه просто prostě; jasně enkelt einfach απλά, ξεκάθαρα sencillamente; claramente; francamente selgelt به سادگی؛ صریحاً selvästi simplement; clairement בְּבֵרוּר स्पष्ट रूप से očito,iskreno világosan; őszintén, nyíltan dengan jelas einfaldlega semplicemente, chiaramente 明白に 명백히; 솔직히 paprastai, aiškiai vienkārši; saprotami; atklāti dgn jelas eenvoudig, duidelijk, eerlijk klart, oppriktig prosto, szczerze, w zrozumiały sposób claramente (în mod) simplu/clar ясно; просто;прямо otvorene, jasne preprosto jasno enkelt, vanligt อย่างเรียบง่าย açıkça 坦誠地 прямо, відверто وضاحت سے một cách rõ ràng 坦诚地
n plainness
vaalheid وُضوح، سُهولَه، صَراحَه простота jednoduchost; jasnost almindelighed die Einfachheit, die Klarheit απλότητα sencillez, simplicidad; franqueza, claridad lihtsus سادگی؛ همواری mutkattomuus simplicité; clarté פַּשטוּת खुलापन jednostavnost,otvorenost egyszerűség; nyíltság; tisztaság; simaság kejelasan einfaldleiki semplicità, chiarezza 明白さ 명백함; 솔직함 paprastumas, aiškumas vienkāršība; saprotamība; vaļsirdība kejelasan eenvoud, duidelijkheid, eerlijkheid, lelijkheid tydelighet; det som er lite pent prostota, szczerość, zrozumiałość clareza simplitate; claritate простота;прямота; некрасивость otvorenosť, úprimnosť enostavnost jasnost enkelhet ความธรรมดา açıklık 坦誠 простота; зрозумілість وضاحت، ہمواري sự rõ ràng 坦诚
plain chocolate
dark chocolate not containing milk. melkvrye sjokolade صِرف، مَحْض، خالِص натурален шоколад hořká čokoláda mørk chokolade reine Schokolade σοκολάτα κουβερτούρα chocolate sin leche mõruðokolaad شکلات ساده tumma suklaa chocolat à croquer שוֹקוֹלָד מָרִיר प्लेन चाकलेट obična étcsokoládé coklat biasa át-/suðusúkkulaði cioccolato fondente/amaro ブラックチョコレート 우유를 섞지 않은 순 초콜릿 grynas šokoladas tīra šokolāde coklat pahit pure chocola mørk sjokolade gorzka czekolada chocolate preto ciocolată amăruie цельный шоколад horká čokoláda jedilna čokolada tamna čokolada mörk choklad ช็อคโกแลตซึ่งไม่มีการปรุงแต่ง sütsüz/bitter çikolata 純巧克力 чистий шоколад بے دودھ کا چاکليٹ sô cô la nguyên chất 纯巧克力
also adj plain clothes
a plain-clothes job. burgerlike drag لِباس عادي ، غَيْر رَسْمي цивилни дрехи civilní šaty civilt tøj; civiltøjs- die Zivilkleidung, Zivil-... πολιτικά ρούχα de paisano vestido erariided لباس شخصی siviiliasu vêtements civils; en civil לְבוּש אֶזרָחִי साधारण वस्त्र civilna odjeća civil (ruha) pakaian preman óeinkennisklæddur abiti civili 平服 평복[](의) civiliniai drabužiai civildrēbes pakaian preman burger sivilklær ubranie cywilne roupa à paisana haine civile; civil штатское (платье) civilné šaty civilna obleka; neuniformiran civilno odelo civila kläder ที่ไม่ได้อยู่ในเครื่องแบบ sivil (elbise/kıyafet) 便服 цивільний, штатський одяг معمولي کپڑے thường phục 便服
plain sailing
progress without difficulty. sonder sukkel تَقَدُّم بِدون صُعوبات безпроблемен úplná hračka det går bare derudad glatt gehen εύκολη υπόθεση,π αιχνιδάκι ser coser y cantar lepase reega کار بی دردسر sujua kuin rasvattu (chose) qui va comme sur des roulettes נְסִיעָה שְׁקֶטָה कठिनाई से प्रगति करना jednostavno sima ügy lancar einfalt mál (compito facile) とんとん拍子 순조로운 항해 (eina) kaip iš pypkės kā pa sviestu berjalan lancar gemakkelijk werk enkelt som fot i hose prosta sprawa, łatwizna coisa fácil (treabă) care merge strună/ca pe roate лёгкий, простой путь úplná hračka kar gre kot po maslu napredovanje bez poteškoća ingen match, raka spåret ขั้นตอนที่ไม่ยากลำบาก kolayca ilerleme, sıkıntısız gelişme 一帆風順 все йде як по маслу بلا رکاوٹ کے ترقي thuận buồm xuôi gió 一帆风顺
adj plain-ˈspoken
speaking honestly and candidly, not trying to be tactful She is a very plain-spoken person who always says what she means. reguit مُعَبِّرا عن آراءِه بِصَراحَه открито казан upřímný ligefrem; oprigtig freimütig ντόμπρος franco, llano otsekohene رک suorasukainen direct דוֹבֵר גְלוּיוֹת स्पष्टवादिता iskren,otovoren nyílt, szókimondó terus terang hreinskilinn, berorður franco, schietto 率直な 솔직히 말하는 tiesmukas, tiesu vaļsirdīgs terus-terang openhartig likefram, som sier ting rett ut, oppriktig, åpenhjertig mówiący prosto z mostu franco direct прямой, откровенный úprimne (priamo, otvorene) hovoriaci brez ovinkarjenja prostodušan ขวานผ่าซาก dobra dobra konuşan 直言不諱的 прямолінійний بےلاگ، صاف گو thẳng thắn 直言不讳的
in plain English
in simple words; clearly expressed Would you mind explaining it in plain English? in gewone Engels بِوُضوح، بِكَلِمات بَسيطَه на прост език po lopatě let engelsk einfache/er/es σε απλή γλώσσα, με απλά λόγια en cristiano, en términos sencillos selges keeles, selgesõnaliselt به انگلیسی ساده و قابل فهم בְּשָׂפָה פְּשוּטָה सरल अंग्रेजी shavtljivo,jednostavnim riječima magyarán sederhana (in modo chiaro), (chiaro e tondo) paprastais žodžiais skaidrā valodā; visiem saprotami dgn bahasa yg mudah enkelt og greit prosto z mostu, bez ogródek ясно, членораздельно v zrozumiteľnej angličtine preprosto in jasno povedati jednostavnim jezikom på ren engelska, i klarspråk, rent ut คำง่าย ๆ basit İngilizceyle; anlaşılır bir şekilde ясно سادہ اور آسان زبان ميں một cách đơn giản
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