Plain Definition

plān
plainest, plains, plainer
adjective
plainest, plainer
Free from obstructions; open; clear.
In plain view.
Webster's New World
Clearly understood; evident; obvious.
To make one's meaning plain.
Webster's New World
Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration.
Plain garb.
American Heritage
Outspoken; frank; straightforward.
Plain talk.
Webster's New World
Downright; thoroughgoing.
Plain nonsense.
Webster's New World
noun
plains
An extent of relatively level country with few trees; prairie, steppe, etc.
Webster's New World
A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare.
American Heritage
Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter.
American Heritage

(rare, poetic) A lamentation.

Wiktionary
Wiktionary
adverb
Clearly or simply.
Just plain tired.
Webster's New World

(colloquial) Simply.

It was just plain stupid.
I plain forgot.
Wiktionary
verb
plains
To complain.
Webster's New World

(intransitive, now rare, poetic) To lament, bewail.

To plain a loss.
Wiktionary

(obsolete) To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface.

Wiktionary

(obsolete) To make plain or manifest; to explain.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Plain

Noun

Singular:
plain
Plural:
Plains

Adjective

Base Form:
plain
Comparative:
plainer
Superlative:
plainest

Origin of Plain

  • From Anglo-Norman plainer, pleiner, variant of Anglo-Norman and Old French pleindre, plaindre, from Latin plangere, present active infinitive of plangō.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Anglo-Norman pleyn, playn, Middle French plain, plein, from Latin plānus (“flat, even, level, plain").

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old French plain, from Latin plānum (“level ground, a plain"), neuter substantive from plānus (“level, even, flat").

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old French from Latin plānus pelə-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to plain using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

plain