plainly
/ˈpleɪnli
/adverb
1Able to be perceived easily: [as submodifier]: a light was plainly visible she could plainly hear footsteps behind her...
- A sinister yet plainly demarcated force of evil is ever-present in his films.
- That same shock was now plainly visible in Mallory's eyes.
- In that darkness, any little star showed as plainly as a sun.
1.1 [sentence adverb] Used to state one’s belief that something is obviously or undeniably true: her mother was plainly anxious to leave...
- Plainly, such a practical result cannot be achieved by an auditorium or a swimming pool, perfunctorily named a memorial.
- The first version, set inside her living room as they discuss her plans, is elaborately mounted but plainly incomplete.
- Plainly, she knows what he does.
1.2In a direct and honest way without concealment or deception: to speak plainly, I suffer from a lack of confidence...
- I will ask you plainly: are you a spy?
- As he told his tale, he spoke as plainly as he could.
- To put it plainly, the young grandmaster made the opening look like it loses by force!
2In a style that is not elaborate or luxurious; simply: he lived plainly and worked hard she is plainly dressed in a T-shirt and trousers...
- The entrance seems to have been devoid of ornament, with windows cut plainly into the brickwork.
- The plainly painted individual units are fitted together the way a careful child would stack blocks.
- The largest part of the composition is taken up by the siding of a house, which is painted plainly, geometrically, in turquoise.