- not decorated or complicated; simple
- a plain but elegant dress
- plain food
- The interior of the church was plain and simple.
- plain yogurt (= without sugar or fruit)
Homophones plain | planeplain plane/pleɪn//pleɪn/- plain adjective
- She likes plain food, without sauces or cheese.
- plain noun
- Wheat is still grown on the Lombardy plain.
- plain adverb (informal)
- That's just plain silly!
- plane noun
- They recently flew into London on a private plane.
- plane verb
- You may need to plane the surface for a smoother fit.
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesb2- The dress was absolutely plain, but quite stunning.
- The food was fairly plain, but well cooked.
- I prefer plain, simple things.
- He eats his popcorn plain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- plain blue, white, etc.
- without marks or a pattern on it
- covers in plain or printed cotton
- Write on plain paper (= without lines).
Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashionb2- Patterned carpet shows the dirt less than a plain colour.
- a range of plain and printed linens
- Do you want plain or lined paper?
- a plain white shirt
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- plain blue, white, etc.
- easy to see or understand synonym clear
- He made it plain that we should leave.
- She made her annoyance plain.
- The facts were plain to see.
- It was a rip-off, plain and simple.
- plain to somebody It is all very plain to me.
- it is plain (to somebody) that… It was plain that she wanted to leave.
- it is plain (to somebody) how, what, etc…. It was plain to everyone just how dangerous the site could be.
- plain from something (that…) What is quite plain from the evidence before me is (that) the figures are false.
Synonyms clearclearobvious ▪ apparent ▪ evident ▪ plainThese words all describe something that is easy to see or understand.clear easy to see or understand and leaving no doubts:- It was quite clear to me that she was lying.
- It’s obvious from what he said that something is wrong.
- It was apparent from her face that she was really upset.
- The orchestra played with evident enjoyment.
- He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave.
- These words all have almost exactly the same meaning. There are slight differences in register and patterns of use. If you make something clear/plain, you do so deliberately because you want people to understand something; if you make something obvious, you usually do it without meaning to:
- I hope I make myself obvious.
- Try not to make it so clear/plain.
- an evident case of something.
- clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain to somebody/something
- clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain that/what/who/how/where/why…
- to seem/become/make something clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
- perfectly/quite/very clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
Extra Examples- They made it plain that they were against the idea.
- Within weeks, it became perfectly plain that we were in the grip of a tyrant.
- He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave.
- Her intentions were plain enough.
- It was plain to us that they had left fairly recently.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- become
- …
- fairly
- very
- etc.
- …
- to
- not trying to trick anyone; honest and direct
- The plain fact is that nobody really knows.
- a politician with a reputation for plain speaking
- (especially North American English) a plain, straightforward sort of man
Synonyms plainplainsimple ▪ stark ▪ bare ▪ unequivocal These words all describe statements, often about something unpleasant, that are very clear, not trying to hide anything, and not using more words than necessary.plain used for talking about a fact that other people may not like to hear; honest and direct in a way that other people may not like:- The plain fact is that nobody really knows.
- The simple truth is that we just can’t afford it.
- The stark truth is that there is not enough money left.
- She gave me only the bare facts of the case.
- The reply was an unequivocal ‘no’.
- the plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal truth
- a(n) plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal fact/statement
- a(n) plain/simple/unequivocal answer
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1- He prided himself on being a plain, honest man with no nonsense about him.
- Let's be plain about this: we will need to make some difficult choices.
- [only before noun] used to emphasize that something is very ordinary, not special in any way synonym everyday
- You don't need any special skills for this job, just plain common sense.
- The situation thrives on half-truths and plain ignorance.
- (especially of a woman) not beautiful or attractive
- I've always had quite a plain face.
- a rather plain woman
- As a child she was rather plain.
- describing a simple stitch used in knitting
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French plain, from Latin planus, from a base meaning ‘flat’.
Idioms
See plain in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee plain in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe plain sailing
(North American English be clear/smooth sailing)
- to be simple and free from trouble
in plain English
- simply and clearly expressed, without using technical language
- a document written in plain English
- If you could put it in plain English I might be able to understand.
- Teachers should encourage students to write in plain English.
(as) plain as a pikestaff | (as) plain as day | (as) plain as the nose on your face
- very obvious
Check pronunciation:
plain