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plain
(redirected from plain quarters)

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
plain  (pln)
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 plnus; see pel-2 in Indo-European roots.]

plainly adv.
plainness 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

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
Noun1.plainplain - 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)
moorland, moor - open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
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
Verb1.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"
backbite, bitch - say mean things
grizzle, yammer, yawp, whine - complain whiningly
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?"
inveigh, rail - complain bitterly
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.plainplain - lacking patterns especially in color
patterned - having patterns (especially colorful patterns)
4.plainplain - 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.plainplain - 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.plainplain - 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 4. ugly, ordinary, unattractive, homely U.S., Canad. not striking, unlovely, unprepossessing, not beautiful, no oil painting (informal) ill-favoured, unalluring << OPPOSITE attractive
Translations
Spanish plain [pleɪn] adj (= clear) → claro, evidente (= simple); sencillo (= frank); franco, abierto (= not handsome); poco atractivo (= pure); natural, puro
advclaramente
nllano, llanura;
in plain clothes [police] → vestido de paisano;
to make sth plain to sb → dejar algo en claro a algn

French 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
nplaine f;
in plain clothes [police] → en civil;
to make sth plain to sb → faire clairement comprendre qch à qn

German 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;
(Knitting) → rechte Masche f;
to make sth plain to sb → jdm etw klarmachen

Italian 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
advfrancamente, chiaramente
npianura;
to make sth plain to sb → far capire chiaramente qc a qn;
in plain clothes [police] → in borghese

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