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Synonyms of plain

clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, noticeable, observable, obvious, patent, pronounced, visible, broad

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plain

17 dictionary results for: plain

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

plain

1 [pleyn]

adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun

–adjective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8.	without intricacies or difficulties.

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

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

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

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

13.	flat or level: plain country.

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

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

–adverb

16.	clearly and simply: He's just plain stupid.

–noun

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

18.	The Plains. Great Plains.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME (adj., adv., and n.) < OF (adj. and n.) < L plānus flat, level, plānum flat country

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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plain

2 [pleyn]

–verb (used without object) British Dialect.

to complain.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME plei(g)nen < OF plaign-, s. of plaindre < L plangere to beat (the breast, etc.), lament; akin to Gk pl

ssein to strike

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

plain (plān) Pronunciation Key
adj. plain·er, plain·est

Free from obstructions; open; clear: in plain view.
Obvious to the mind; evident: make one's intention plain. See Synonyms at apparent.
Not elaborate or complicated; simple: plain food.
Straightforward; frank or candid: plain talk.
Not mixed with other substances; pure: plain water.
Common in rank or station; average; ordinary: a plain man.
Not pretentious; unaffected.
Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration.
Not dyed, twilled, or patterned: a plain fabric.
Lacking beauty or distinction: a plain face.
Sheer; utter; unqualified: plain stupidity.
Archaic Having no visible elevation or depression; flat; level.

1. An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land.
2. A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare.
Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter.

adv. Informal
Clearly; simply: plain stubborn.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin plānus; see pelə-² in Indo-European roots.]
plain'ly adv., plain'ness n.

Synonyms: 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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
plain (adj.)

c.1300, "flat, smooth," from O.Fr. plain, from L. planus "flat, even, level" (see plane (1)). Sense of "evident" is from, c.1300; meaning "simple, sincere, ordinary" is recorded from c.1374. In ref. to the dress and speech of Quakers, it is recorded from 1827; of Amish and Mennonites, from 1904. Of appearance, as a euphemism for "ill-favored, ugly" it dates from 1749. Plain Jane "unattractive woman" first attested 1912. Plain-spoken first attested 1678. Plain clothes "ordinary dress" (as opposed to military uniform) is from 1822; of police detectives, it is attested from 1842. Plain-song (1513) translates L. cantus planus.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
plain (n.)

"level country," 1297 (originally in ref. to Salisbury Plain), from O.Fr. plain, from L. planum "level ground, plain," properly neut. of adj. planus "flat, even, level" ((see plane (1)). L. planum was used for "level ground" but much more common was campus. Plains of the American Midwest first so called 1684.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

plain
adjective
1.	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" [syn: apparent]
2.	not elaborate or elaborated; simple; "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building" [ant: fancy]
3.	lacking patterns especially in color [ant: patterned]
4.	not mixed with extraneous elements; "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"
5.	free from any effort to soften to disguise; "the plain and unvarnished truth"; "the unvarnished candor of old people and children"
6.	lacking embellishment or ornamentation; "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"
7.	lacking in physical beauty or proportion; "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face" [syn: homely]
adverb
1.	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" [syn: obviously]
noun
1.	extensive tract of level open land; "they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"; "he longed for the fields of his youth"
2.	a basic knitting stitch [syn: knit]
verb
1.	express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about" [syn: complain] [ant: cheer]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

plain

In addition to the idioms beginning with plain, also see in plain English.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

plain (plān) Pronunciation Key

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

PLAIN
Programming LAnguage for INteraction. Pascal-like, with extensions for database, string handling, exceptions and pattern matching. "Revised Report on the Programming Language PLAIN", A. Wasserman, SIGPLAN Notices 6(5):59-80 (May 1981).

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain Dealing, LA (town, FIPS 60670)
Location: (32.905898, -93.699896)
Population (2000): 1,071 (481 housing units)
Area: 1.591456 sq mi (land), 0.004631 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 71064

Plain City, OH (village, FIPS 63030)
Location: (40.107541, -83.267861)
Population (2000): 2,832 (1,201 housing units)
Area: 1.811692 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 43064

Plain View, NC (township, FIPS 16392524)
Location: (35.230090, -78.534544)
Population (2000): 4,537 (1,801 housing units)
Area: 46.072583 sq mi (land), 0.215333 sq mi (water)

Plain Grove, PA (township, FIPS 07361104)
Location: (41.066710, -80.140974)
Population (2000): 854 (351 housing units)
Area: 17.886968 sq mi (land), 0.086311 sq mi (water)

Plain Center, SD (township, FIPS 02349820)
Location: (43.132802, -98.415795)
Population (2000): 129 (56 housing units)
Area: 35.194228 sq mi (land), 0.891268 sq mi (water)

Plain City, UT (city, FIPS 60710)
Location: (41.299492, -112.080200)
Population (2000): 3,489 (1,001 housing units)
Area: 3.730265 sq mi (land), 0.005039 sq mi (water)

Plain View, NC (CDP, FIPS 52685)
Location: (35.248883, -78.565742)
Population (2000): 1,820 (732 housing units)
Area: 16.607064 sq mi (land), 0.056243 sq mi (water)

Plain, WI (village, FIPS 11163125)
Location: (43.277580, -90.044563)
Population (2000): 792 (339 housing units)
Area: 0.731058 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 53577

Plain, WI (village, FIPS 63125)
Location: (43.277580, -90.044563)
Population (2000): 792 (339 housing units)
Area: 0.731058 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 53577

Plain, ND (township, FIPS 07562900)
Location: (48.499515, -101.648632)
Population (2000): 34 (18 housing units)
Area: 35.686746 sq mi (land), 0.353602 sq mi (water)

Plain, OH (township, FIPS 04962974)
Location: (40.084081, -82.824857)
Population (2000): 5,926 (2,249 housing units)
Area: 21.311758 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Plain, IN (township, FIPS 08560228)
Location: (41.301050, -85.816982)
Population (2000): 7,194 (3,088 housing units)
Area: 34.287685 sq mi (land), 1.649662 sq mi (water)

Plain, OH (township, FIPS 15162988)
Location: (40.861657, -81.373341)
Population (2000): 51,997 (22,414 housing units)
Area: 28.333622 sq mi (land), 0.165008 sq mi (water)

Plain, OH (township, FIPS 16962995)
Location: (40.779170, -82.057940)
Population (2000): 2,894 (1,045 housing units)
Area: 41.708353 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Plain, OH (township, FIPS 17363002)
Location: (41.371369, -83.710320)
Population (2000): 1,706 (662 housing units)
Area: 25.424710 sq mi (land), 0.025372 sq mi (water)

Garden Plain, KS (city, FIPS 25375)
Location: (37.660451, -97.681811)
Population (2000): 797 (292 housing units)
Area: 0.540409 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 67050

Garden Plain, KS (township, FIPS 17325400)
Location: (37.673509, -97.662996)
Population (2000): 1,780 (596 housing units)
Area: 35.615125 sq mi (land), 0.053232 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 67050

Maple Plain, MN (city, FIPS 05340256)
Location: (45.008412, -93.658932)
Population (2000): 2,088 (786 housing units)
Area: 1.113358 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 55359

Maple Plain, MN (city, FIPS 40256)
Location: (45.008412, -93.658932)
Population (2000): 2,088 (786 housing units)
Area: 1.113358 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 55359

Pleasant Plain, OH (village, FIPS 63576)
Location: (39.279783, -84.109250)
Population (2000): 156 (57 housing units)
Area: 0.108185 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 45162

Fort Plain, NY (village, FIPS 26924)
Location: (42.930846, -74.624799)
Population (2000): 2,288 (1,108 housing units)
Area: 1.361944 sq mi (land), 0.050957 sq mi (water)
Zip code(s): 13339

Maple Plain, WI (town, FIPS 00548950)
Location: (45.591063, -92.098201)
Population (2000): 876 (667 housing units)
Area: 33.292466 sq mi (land), 2.704194 sq mi (water)

Battle Plain, MN (township, FIPS 13303988)
Location: (43.802381, -96.118370)
Population (2000): 233 (83 housing units)
Area: 36.318332 sq mi (land), 0.014958 sq mi (water)

Grand Plain, MN (township, FIPS 08925046)
Location: (48.200696, -95.928590)
Population (2000): 55 (29 housing units)
Area: 44.878058 sq mi (land), 0.007286 sq mi (water)

Garden Plain, IL (township, FIPS 19528586)
Location: (41.814150, -90.167427)
Population (2000): 1,055 (432 housing units)
Area: 30.719907 sq mi (land), 0.872205 sq mi (water)

Bell Plain, IL (township, FIPS 12304949)
Location: (40.976657, -89.226556)
Population (2000): 436 (176 housing units)
Area: 36.841475 sq mi (land), 0.063405 sq mi (water)

Hickory Plain, AR (township, FIPS 11791698)
Location: (35.001685, -91.746097)
Population (2000): 576 (266 housing units)
Area: 54.826547 sq mi (land), 1.674016 sq mi (water)

Mill Plain, WA (CDP, FIPS 45915)
Location: (45.644728, -122.492878)
Population (2000): 7,400 (2,500 housing units)
Area: 5.982716 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Elk Plain, WA (CDP, FIPS 21205)
Location: (47.044812, -122.366812)
Population (2000): 15,697 (5,211 housing units)
Area: 9.566659 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

Fair Plain, MI (CDP, FIPS 27160)
Location: (42.085990, -86.453570)
Population (2000): 7,828 (3,436 housing units)
Area: 4.208193 sq mi (land), 0.236911 sq mi (water)

Pleasant Plain, IA (city, FIPS 63615)
Location: (41.145784, -91.859581)
Population (2000): 131 (57 housing units)
Area: 1.014202 sq mi (land), 0.000000 sq mi (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

Plain\, v. i. [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.] To lament; to bewail; to complain. [Archaic & Poetic] --Milton.

We with piteous heart unto you pleyne. --Chaucer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

Plain\, v. t. To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] --Sir J. Harrington.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

Plain\, a. [Compar. Plainer; superl. Plainest.] [F., level, flat, fr. L. planus, perhaps akin to E. floor. Cf. Llano, Piano, Plan, Plane level, a level surface.]

1. Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane.

The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. --Isa. xl. 4.

2. Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.

Our troops beat an army in plain fight. --Felton.

3. Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable. "'T is a plain case." --Shak.

4. (a) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple. (b) Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common. "Plain yet pious Christians." --Hammond. "The plain people." --A. Lincoln. (c) Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank. "An honest mind, and plain." --Shak. (d) Not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food. (e) Without beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman. (f) Not variegated, dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin. (g) Not much varied by modulations; as, a plain tune.

Plain battle, open battle; pitched battle. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Plain chant (Mus.) Same as Plain song, below.

Plain chart (Naut.), a chart laid down on Mercator's projection.

Plain dealer. (a) One who practices plain dealing. (b) A simpleton. [Obs.] --Shak.

Plain dealing. See under Dealing.

Plain molding (Join.), molding of which the surfaces are plain figures.

Plain sewing, sewing of seams by simple and common stitches, in distinct from fancy work, embroidery, etc.; -- distinguished also from designing and fitting garments.

Plain song. (a) The Gregorian chant, or canto fermo; the prescribed melody of the Roman Catholic service, sung in unison, in tones of equal length, and rarely extending beyond the compass of an octave. (b) A simple melody.

Plain speaking, plainness or bluntness of speech.

Syn: Level; flat; smooth; open; artless; unaffected; undisguised; frank; sincere; honest; candid; ingenuous; unembellished; downright; blunt; clear; simple; distinct; manifest; obvious; apparent. See Manifest.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

Plain\, adv. In a plain manner; plainly. "To speak short and pleyn." --Chaucer. "To tell you plain." --Shak.

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Plain

Plain\, n. [Cf. OF. plaigne, F. plaine. See Plain, a.]

1. Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies.

Descending fro the mountain into playn. --Chaucer.

Him the Ammonite Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain. --Milton.

2. A field of battle. [Obs.] --Arbuthnot.

Lead forth my soldiers to the plain. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

Plain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plained; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaining.] [Cf. Plane, v.]

1. To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface. [R.]

We would rake Europe rather, plain the East. --Wither.

2. To make plain or manifest; to explain.

What's dumb in show, I'll plain in speech. --Shak.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Plain

(1.) Heb. 'abel (Judg. 11:33), a "grassy plain" or "meadow." Instead of "plains of the vineyards," as in the Authorized Version, the Revised Version has "Abel-cheramim" (q.v.), comp. Judg. 11:22; 2 Chr. 16:4. (2.) Heb. 'elon (Gen. 12:6; 13:18; 14:13; 18:1; Deut. 11:30; Judg. 9:6), more correctly "oak," as in the Revised Version; margin, "terebinth." (3.) Heb. bik'ah (Gen. 11:2; Neh. 6:2; Ezek. 3:23; Dan. 3:1), properly a valley, as rendered in Isa. 40:4, a broad plain between mountains. In Amos 1:5 the margin of Authorized Version has "Bikathaven." (4.) Heb. kikar, "the circle," used only of the Ghor, or the low ground along the Jordan (Gen. 13:10-12; 19:17, 25, 28, 29; Deut. 34:3; 2 Sam. 18:23; 1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chr. 4:17; Neh. 3:22; 12:28), the floor of the valley through which it flows. This name is applied to the Jordan valley as far north as Succoth. (5.) Heb. mishor, "level ground," smooth, grassy table-land (Deut. 3:10; 4:43; Josh. 13:9, 16, 17, 21; 20:8; Jer. 48:21), an expanse of rolling downs without rock or stone. In these passages, with the article prefixed, it denotes the plain in the tribe of Reuben. In 2 Chr. 26:10 the plain of Judah is meant. Jerusalem is called "the rock of the plain" in Jer. 21:13, because the hills on which it is built rise high above the plain. (6.) Heb. 'arabah, the valley from the Sea of Galilee southward to the Dead Sea (the "sea of the plain," 2 Kings 14:25; Deut. 1:1; 2:8), a distance of about 70 miles. It is called by the modern Arabs the Ghor. This Hebrew name is found in Authorized Version (Josh. 18:18), and is uniformly used in the Revised Version. Down through the centre of this plain is a ravine, from 200 to 300 yards wide, and from 50 to 100 feet deep, through which the Jordan flows in a winding course. This ravine is called the "lower plain." The name Arabah is also applied to the whole Jordan valley from Mount Hermon to the eastern branch of the Red Sea, a distance of about 200 miles, as well as to that portion of the valley which stretches from the Sea of Galilee to the same branch of the Red Sea, i.e., to the Gulf of Akabah about 100 miles in all. (7.) Heb. shephelah, "low ground," "low hill-land," rendered "vale" or "valley" in Authorized Version (Josh. 9:1; 10:40; 11:2; 12:8; Judg. 1:9; 1 Kings 10:27). In Authorized Version (1 Chr. 27:28; 2 Chr. 26:10) it is also rendered "low country." In Jer. 17:26, Obad. 1:19, Zech. 7:7, "plain." The Revised Version renders it uniformly "low land." When it is preceded by the article, as in Deut. 1:7, Josh. 11:16; 15:33, Jer. 32:44; 33:13, Zech. 7:7, "the shephelah," it denotes the plain along the Mediterranean from Joppa to Gaza, "the plain of the Philistines." (See VALLEY.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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