Meaning & Definition of Plain in English

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

1. Express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness

• "My mother complains all day"

• "She has a lot to kick about"

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"

2. Not elaborate or elaborated

• Simple

• "Plain food"

• "Stuck to the plain facts"

• "A plain blue suit"

• "A plain rectangular brick building"

3. Lacking patterns especially in color

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"

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"