plainadjective
uk/pleɪn/us/pleɪn/plain adjective (WITH NOTHING ADDED)
B1 not decorated in any way; with nothing added:
paper that has no lines on it:
More examples
- a plain gold ring with no ornamentation
- Their website is fairly plain, but very easy to navigate.
- She was dressed very soberly in a plain grey suit.
- Do you prefer plain or striped shirts?
- I want a plain black jumper with no fancy trimmings.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Plain and ordinary
- as it comes idiom
- austere
- austerity
- be a dime a dozen idiom
- be two/ten a penny idiom
- dime
- homely
- homespun
- homey
- humble
- humdrum
- kitchen-sink
- penny
- severely
- shout
- simple
- sober
- something/nothing to shout about idiom
- spartan
- stale
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
plain adjective (CLEAR)
C2 obvious and clear to understand:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Apparent and obvious
- apparent
- be (as) plain as the nose on your face idiom
- be (right) under your nose idiom
- be etched somewhere idiom
- be writ large idiom
- leap out at sb
- linear
- loud
- loud and clear idiom
- manifest
- manifestly
- marked
- publicly
- recognizable
- self-evident
- shine
- shine out
- shine through
- stare
- stark
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plain adjective (COMPLETE)
[ before noun ] (used for emphasis) complete:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: very & extreme
- abject
- awful
- badly
- beyond
- classic
- classical
- devastating
- drop dead! idiom
- eminently
- esp
- especially
- heartily
- impossibly
- perfect
- sheer
- specially
- supremely
- thoroughly
- whole
- wide
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plain adjective (NOT BEAUTIFUL)
C2 (especially of a woman or girl) not beautiful:
a woman or girl who is not attractive:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not attractive to look at
- a blot on the landscape idiom
- back end
- be no oil painting idiom
- be not much to look at idiom
- blowsy
- florid
- ghoulish
- hideously
- icky
- inelegant
- look a fright idiom
- look like the back end of a bus idiom
- minger
- mousy
- putrid
- tasteless
- twee
- ugly
- ugly duckling
- unappealing
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Idiom(s)
plainnoun
uk/pleɪn/us/pleɪn/plain noun (LAND)
[ C ] also plains [ plural ] a large area of flat land:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Geography: deserts, prairies & wildernesses
- bush
- Bushman
- common
- desert
- dust bowl
- marginal land
- moor
- moorland
- pampas
- pasture
- scrub
- steppe
- sward
- tall-grass prairie
- the outback
- tundra
- undeveloped
- waste
- wasteland
- wild
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plain noun (STITCH)
[ U ] a type of simple stitch in knitting:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Knitting & sewing
- appliqué
- backing
- baste
- bind
- bobbin
- bodkin
- cable stitch
- handknitted
- hem
- knit
- knitter
- knitting
- needle
- seamstress
- sew sth up
- sewing
- sewing machine
- shorten
- stitch
- tack
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plainadverb
uk/pleɪn/us/pleɪn/informalcompletely:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Complete and whole
- A, a
- a/one hundred percent idiom
- absolutely
- all or nothing idiom
- all-in-one
- all-inclusive
- completely
- flat
- full-fledged
- full-length
- fully
- fully fledged
- heart and soul idiom
- root
- totally
- unabridged
- unadulterated
- unconditional
- uncut
- undivided
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