plain

plain1 [ pleın ] adjective **

1. ) easily seen or understood:

Hugh's message was short, but the meaning was plain enough.

it is plain (that): It was plain that they knew each other already.

it is plain to someone (that): It was plain to everyone that Maude was not happy.

make it plain: Teresa made it plain that she would not help Robert any more.

be plain to see: Her disappointment was plain to see.

a ) (as) plain as day/(as) plain as the nose on your face INFORMAL very obvious

b ) make something plain/make yourself plain to say something so that it is obvious what you mean:

Thomas made plain his concerns about the changes introduced at work.

c ) plain and simple used for emphasizing that something is completely true and cannot be described as anything else:

It was cheating, plain and simple.

The project has been beset by plain and simple managerial incompetence.

2. ) simple in design, with no decoration:

a plain wooden table

The flower gardens were fairly plain, with few plants.

a plain white T-shirt

We sell a selection of plain and patterned ties.

a ) plain food is simple and does not have a lot of things added to it:

a plain hamburger

plain yogurt

The restaurant serves plain wholesome food.

b ) not very attractive:

He seems to be attracted to plain quiet women.

c ) only before noun used before a name for saying that someone does not have a special title or name:

It's just plain Mr. Cunningham now, no need to call me Doctor.

3. ) expressing what you think honestly, using simple, direct language:

a plain answer

plain speaking/talking: She was admired for her plain speaking.

a ) plain English/language/wording language that is easy to understand because it does not use difficult or technical words:

There have been demands for the tax forms to be rewritten in plain English.

b ) the plain fact/truth is SPOKEN used for saying what you think is true even if it offends someone:

The plain fact is that he is not doing his job very well.

plain old

not at all unusual, interesting, or special:

The recipe is nothing special you just use plain old hamburger and some onion powder.

plain old common sense

plain stupidity/luck etc.

used for emphasizing that something is very stupid/lucky, etc.:

It was plain stupidity to think they could get away with a crime like that.

╾ plain|ness noun uncount

plain

plain 2 [ pleın ] noun count **

plain or plains a large flat area of land:

the vast plains in the central states of the U.S.

the Serengeti Plains in East Africa

plain

plain 3 [ pleın ] adverb *

used for emphasizing that someone or something has a particular negative quality:

It was just plain stupid of him to get involved.

That's just plain crazy!