plain

[pleyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plain ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, plain·er, plain·est.

clear or distinct to the eye or ear: a plain trail to the river; to stand in plain view.

clear to the mind; evident, manifest, or obvious: to make one's meaning plain.

conveying the meaning clearly and simply; easily understood: plain talk.

downright; sheer; utter; self-evident: plain folly; plain stupidity.

free from ambiguity or evasion; candid; outspoken: the plain truth of the matter.

without special pretensions, superiority, elegance, etc.; ordinary: plain people.

not beautiful; physically unattractive or undistinguished: a plain face.

without intricacies or difficulties.

ordinary, simple, or unostentatious: Although she was a duchess, her manners were attractively plain.

with little or no embellishment, decoration, or enhancing elaboration: a plain blue suit.

without a pattern, figure, or device: a plain fabric.

not rich, highly seasoned, or elaborately prepared, as food: a plain diet.

flat or level: plain country.

unobstructed, clear, or open, as ground, a space, etc.

Cards. being other than a face card or a trump.

adverb

clearly and simply: He's just plain stupid.

noun

an area of land not significantly higher than adjacent areas and with relatively minor differences in elevation, commonly less than 500 feet (150 meters), within the area.

The Plains. Great Plains.

Origin of plain

1250–1300; Middle English (adj., adv., and noun) < Old French (adj. and noun) < Latin plānus flat, level, plānum flat country

Related formsplain·ly, adverbplain·ness, noun

Can be confusedplain plan plane

Synonym study

10. See homely.

Synonyms for plain

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR plain ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. lucid, understandable, intelligible, unmistakable, apparent, perspicuous. 2, 3. unambiguous, unequivocal, patent, transparent; direct. 5. unreserved, straightforward, blunt, frank, ingenuous, open, sincere. 6. unpretentious. 10. unadorned.

Antonyms for plain

1. indistinct. 2. obscure. 13. hilly.

plain

[pleyn]

verb (used without object) British Dialect.

to complain.

Origin of plain

1250–1300; Middle English plei(g)nen < Old French plaign-, stem of plaindre < Latin plangere to beat (the breast, etc.), lament; akin to Greek plḗssein to strike

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for plains

meadow, expanse, field, prairie, steppe, grassland, plateau, flat, level, tundra, moor, champaign, moorland, heath, flatland

Examples from the Web for plains

Contemporary Examples of plains

Based on the hat he had created for himself, Stetson made a version called “The Boss of the Plains.”
My Love Letter to the Stetson
Mark McKinnon
December 24, 2014
In the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Plains, and Far West, secession sympathizers top out at 22 percent of the population.
America’s Slumbering Secession Obsession
James Poulos
September 23, 2014
This is a big problem in states like Alaska, Montana, the Dakotas, and the plains states.
Will US Health Care Follow in China’s Bloody Footsteps?
Daniela Drake
September 21, 2014
Take the case of the American bison: The ice-age bison evolved into the Plains buffalo, Bison bison, perhaps 10,000 years ago.
American Wilderness Faces the Firing Squad
Doug Peacock
July 6, 2014
Michael Waters explains, without serious evidence, that elk was “a rare animal in the plains at that time.”
Incontrovertible Evidence Proves the First Americans Came From Asia
Doug Peacock
March 27, 2014

Historical Examples of plains

It has populated the mountains and the plains of our own country.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
To the east, plains for at least thirty miles, when broken ranges were visible.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
From the camp only plains were in sight, not a tree visible.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
We can turn rivers in their courses, level mountains to the plains.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
This village was indicated, and the mountains, and plains beyond.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for plains

plains

pl n

mainly US extensive tracts of level or almost level treeless countryside; prairies

plain

adjective

flat or smooth; level

not complicated; clearthe plain truth

not difficult; simple or easya plain task

honest or straightforward

lowly, esp in social rank or education

without adornment or showa plain coat

(of fabric) without pattern or of simple untwilled weave

not attractive

not mixed; simpleplain vodka

knitting of or done in plain

noun

a level or almost level tract of country, esp an extensive treeless region

a simple stitch in knitting made by putting the right needle into a loop on the left needle, passing the wool round the right needle, and pulling it through the loop, thus forming a new loop

(in billiards)

the unmarked white ball, as distinguished from the spot balls
the player using this ball

(in Ireland) short for plain porter, a light portertwo pints of plain, please

adverb

(intensifier)just plain tired

Word Origin for plain

C13: from Old French: simple, from Latin plānus level, distinct, clear

plain

verb

a dialect or poetic word for complain

Word Origin for plain

C14 pleignen, from Old French plaindre to lament, from Latin plangere to beat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for plains

of the American Midwest, 1755 (in singular form from 1680s), see plain (n.). Plains Indian attested from 1844.

plain

adj.

c.1300, "flat, smooth," from Old French plain "flat, smooth, even" (12c.), from Latin planus "flat, even, level" (see plane (n.1)). Sense of "evident" is from, c.1300; that of "free from obstruction" is early 14c.; meaning "simple, sincere, ordinary" is recorded from late 14c., especially of dress, "unembellished, without decoration."

In reference to the dress and speech of Quakers, it is recorded from 1824; of Amish and Mennonites, from 1894 (in the Dutch regions of Pennsylvania Plain with the capital is shorthand adjective for "Amish and Old Order Mennonite"). Of appearance, as a euphemism for "ill-favored, ugly" it dates from 1749. Of envelopes from 1913. As an adverb from early 14c. Plain English is from c.1500. Plain dealer "one who deals plainly or speaks candidly" is from 1570s, marked "Now rare" in OED 2nd edition. To be as plain as the nose on (one's) face is from 1690s.

plain

"level country," c.1300 (in reference to Salisbury Plain), from Old French plain "open countryside," from Latin planum "level ground, plain," noun use of neuter of planus (adj.) "flat, even, level" (see plane (n.1)). Latin planum was used for "level ground" but much more common was campus.

plains in Science

plain

[plān]

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.

A broad, level expanse, such as an area of the sea floor or a lunar mare.

Idioms and Phrases with plains

plain

In addition to the idioms beginning with plain

plain as day
plain sailing

also see:

in plain English