plain

1. Free from obstructions; open; clear: in plain view.
2. Obvious to the mind; evident: make one's intention plain. See synonyms at apparent.
3. Not elaborate or complicated; simple: plain food.
4. Straightforward; frank or candid: plain talk.
5. Not mixed with other substances; pure: plain water.
6. Common in rank or station; average; ordinary: a plain man.
7. Not pretentious; unaffected.
8. Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration.
9. Not dyed, twilled, or patterned: a plain fabric.
10. Lacking beauty or distinction: a plain face.
11. Sheer; utter; unqualified: plain stupidity.
12. Archaic. Having no visible elevation or depression; flat; level.

1. 1. An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land.
   2. A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare.
2. Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin plānus.]

SYNONYMS   plain, modest, simple, unostentatious, unpretentious. These adjectives mean not ornate, ostentatious, or showy: a plain hairstyle; a modest cottage; a simple dark suit; an unostentatious office; an unpretentious country church.
ANTONYM  ornate

For more information on plain, visit Britannica.com.

adjective

1. Readily seen, perceived, or understood: apparent, clear, clear-cut, crystal clear, distinct, evident, manifest, noticeable, observable, obvious, patent, pronounced, visible. See see/not see.
2. Easily seen through due to a lack of subtlety: broad, clear, obvious, patent, unmistakable, unsubtle. See clear/unclear, see/not see.
3. Not elaborate or showy, as in appearance or style: modest, simple, unassuming, unostentatious, unpretentious. See plain/fancy.
4. Without addition, decoration, or qualification: bald, bare, dry, simple, unadorned, unvarnished. See plain/fancy.
5. Free from extraneous elements: absolute, perfect, pure, sheer², simple, unadulterated, undiluted, unmixed. See clean/dirty.
6. Not diluted or mixed with other substances: full-strength, neat, pure, straight, unblended, undiluted, unmixed. See clean/dirty, strong/weak.
7. Being of no special quality or type: average, common, commonplace, cut-and-dried, formulaic, garden, garden-variety, indifferent, mediocre, ordinary, routine, run-of-the-mill, standard, stock, undistinguished, unexceptional, unremarkable. See good/bad, usual/unusual.
8. Not handsome or beautiful: homely, unattractive, uncomely, unlovely. Idioms: not much for looks, not much to look at, short on looks. See beautiful/ugly.
9. Completely such, without qualification or exception: absolute, all-out, arrant, complete, consummate, crashing, damned, dead, downright, flat, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pure, sheer², thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unbounded, unequivocal, unlimited, unmitigated, unqualified, unrelieved, unreserved, utter². Informal flat-out, positive. Chiefly British blooming. See big/small/amount, limited/unlimited.

Idioms beginning with plain:
plain as day
plain sailing

See also in plain English.

Definition: clear, obvious
Antonyms: complex, complicated, hidden, intricate, obscure, obscured, unclear, vague

adj

Definition: normal, everyday
Antonyms: abnormal, complex, difficult, extraordinary, uncommon

adj

Definition: straightforward in speech
Antonyms: abstruse, ambiguous, imperceptible, incomprehensible, obscure, unclear, vague

adj

Definition: ugly
Antonyms: attractive, beautiful, pretty

adj

Definition: unembellished, basic
Antonyms: decorated, dressed-up, elaborate, embellished, fancy, formal, ornate

Lacking in style; unadorned.

• p.-bodied — said of a sheep with very few wrinkles.
• p. quarters — a horse with fat, rounded hindquarters resembling those of a pig.
• p. wool — when the crimp in the staple is barely visible.

This article is about the geographical feature. For other uses, see Plain (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2007)

A small mirage on the road, Western plains, New South Wales, Australia

Los llanos, an area of land with relatively high relief in Venezuela

Corn fields in the Wallachian Plain. The Walachian plain is known for his thick deposits of loess and its fertile black earth

Part of the plain that surrounds Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or vegetation may be absent in the case of sandy or stony plains in hot deserts. Types of flatlands for which the term is not generally used include those covered entirely and permanently by swamps, marshes, playas, or ice sheets.

Plains occur as lowlands and at the bottoms of valleys but also on plateaus at high elevations. In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains or cliffs. Where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass (sometime termed a gap). Plains may have been formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice or wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains.

Plains in many areas are important for agriculture, because where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanization of crop production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock.

Contents 1 Types of terrestrial plains 2 Other types 3 See also 4 References

Types of terrestrial plains

• Coastal plain, an area of low-lying land adjacent to a sea; the term is used especially where they contrast with hills, mountains or plateaux further inland.
• Fluvial plains are formed by rivers, and may be one of these overlapping types:
  • Flood plain, adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland that experiences occasional or periodic flooding.
  • Alluvial plain, formed over a long period of time by a river depositing sediment on its floodplain or bed which becomes alluvial soil. The difference between a floodplain and an alluvial plain is that the floodplain represents the area experiencing flooding fairly regularly in the present or recently, whereas an alluvial plain includes areas where the floodplain is now and used to be, or areas which only experience flooding a few times a century.
  • Scroll plain, a plain through which a river meanders with a very low gradient.
• Lacustrine plain, a plain that originally formed in a lacustrine environment, that is, as the bed of a lake.
• Lava plain, formed by sheets of flowing lava.
• Glacial plains are formed by the movement of glaciers under the force of gravity:
  • Till plain, a plain of glacial till that forms when a sheet of ice becomes detached from the main body of a glacier and melts in place depositing the sediments it carries. Till plains are composed of unsorted material (till) of all sizes.
  • Sandur (plural sandar), a glacial outwash plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier. Sandar consist mainly of stratified (layered and sorted) gravel and sand.

Other types

The term may also be used for flat areas of the ocean floor or for flat areas on moons and planets.

• Abyssal plain, a flat or very gently sloping area of the deep ocean basin floor.

See also

Look up plain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Plains

• Field
• Flooded grasslands and savannas
• Flood-meadow
• Grassland
• Machair
• Meadow
• Pasture
• Plateau
• Prairie
• Rangeland
• Savanna
• Steppe
• Velyell
• Water-meadow
• Wet meadow

References

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - tydelig, simpel, ensfarvet, jævn, tarvelig, klar, dagligdags
adv. - klart
n. - jævn mark, slette

idioms:

• be plain with    være ligefrem overfor
• plain chocolate    ren chokolade
• plain clothes    civilt tøj
• plain dealing    oprigtighed
• plain flour    rent mel
• plain sailing    lige ud af landevejen
• plain time    normal arbejdstid

2.
v. intr. - klage, sørge

Nederlands (Dutch)
eenvoudig, duidelijk, lelijk, effen, ongelijnd, onomwonden, naturel (smaak), ongekleurd, recht (steek), niet gecodeerd, ronduit, vlakte, (wee)klagen, kreunen

Français (French)
1.
adj. - simple, uni, sans inscription (sur une enveloppe), quelconque (une femme), laid, net (une ligne), évident, clair, franc, pur et simple, nature (yaourt), à l'endroit (une maille)
adv. - tout simplement, tout bonnement, clairement
n. - (Géog) plaine, quelque chose de sobre

idioms:

• be plain with    être franc avec
• plain chocolate    chocolat à croquer
• plain clothes    en civil
• plain dealing    honnêteté
• plain flour    (Culin) farine (sans levure)
• plain sailing    (marcher) comme sur des roulettes
• plain time    horaire normal

2.
v. intr. - pleurer (qn, qch)

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - klar, offen, schlicht, einfach, rein, ohne Muster, wenig attraktiv, offensichtlich
adv. - deutlich, einfach
n. - Ebene, Prärie, rechte Masche

idioms:

• be plain with    jmdm. gegenüber offen sein
• plain chocolate    (halb)bittere Schokolade
• plain clothes    Zivil(kleidung)
• plain dealing    Offenheit
• plain flour    Mehl ohne Treibmittel
• plain sailing    leichte Aufgabe
• plain time    Zeit, die nicht mit Überstundentarifen bezahlt wird

2.
v. - wehklagen

Ελληνική (Greek)
adv. - καθαρά, ευδιακρίτως, ειλικρινά
n. - κάμπος, πεδιάδα, επίπεδο έδαφος
adj. - καθαρός, ολοφάνερος, σαφής, ξεκάθαρος, απέριττος, λιτός, απλός, κοινός, μονόχρωμος, ειλικρινής, απερίφραστος, ντόμπρος, σταράτος, άχαρος, κοινός, ασχημούτσικος

idioms:

• be plain with    είμαι ειλικρινής με
• plain chocolate    σοκολάτα κουβερτούρα, καθαρή σοκολάτα (ρόφημα) χωρίς γάλα
• plain clothes    πολιτική περιβολή (αστυνομικού)
• plain dealing    εντιμότητα, μπέσα
• plain flour    αλεύρι χωρίς προσθετικά
• plain sailing    άνεση, ευχέρεια
• plain time    κανονικά αμειβόμενος χρόνος εργασίας

Italiano (Italian)
facilmente, pianura, semplice, liscio, disadorno, brutto, insignificante, chiaro, franco

idioms:

• be plain with    essere chiaro con
• plain chocolate    cioccolata amara
• plain clothes    in borghese
• plain dealing    ingenuità
• plain flour    farina da pane
• plain sailing    filare liscio
• plain time    orario regolare

Português (Portuguese)
adv. - simplesmente
n. - planície (f)
adj. - simples, honesto, claro, franco, puro, liso, despojado

idioms:

• be plain with    ser franco com
• plain chocolate    chocolate puro
• plain clothes    roupas despojadas
• plain dealing    negócio simples
• plain flour    farinha pura
• plain sailing    sem dificuldades
• plain time    hora de expediente normal

Русский (Russian)
равнина, безыскусный, заурядный, прямодушный, простой, открыто

idioms:

• be plain with    быть откровенным с
• plain chocolate    плиточный шоколад
• plain clothes    штатская одежда, полицейский вне форме
• plain dealing    честность
• plain flour    мука
• plain sailing    легкое дело
• plain time    оплата без лишнего за сверхурочную работу

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - llano, sencillo, simple, blanco, natural, unicolor, puro, feo, sin atractivo, claro, evidente, obvio, franco, abierto
adv. - claramente, lisa y llanamente, francamente
n. - planicie, llanura, llano

idioms:

• be plain with    ser franco con, hablar claro
• plain chocolate    chocolate puro (sin leche)
• plain clothes    traje de calle, traje de paisano/civil
• plain dealing    candor, franqueza, buena fe
• plain flour    harina común
• plain sailing    cosa fácil, asunto simple
• plain time    tiempo regular (no pagado como horas extra)

2.
v. intr. - queja, lamento

Svenska (Swedish)
adv. - klart, tydligt
n. - slätt(land), jämn mark
adj. - klar, tydlig, enkel, ren, ärlig, vardags-, alldaglig, vanlig, hacka (kortsp.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
简单的, 平常的, 明白的, 平原, 草原, 清楚地

idioms:

• be plain with    坦白对...讲
• plain chocolate    纯巧克力
• plain clothes    便衣警察, 便衣
• plain dealing    坦率
• plain flour    普通面粉
• plain sailing    一帆风顺
• plain time    普通工作时间

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 簡單的, 平常的, 明白的
n. - 平原, 草原
adv. - 清楚地

idioms:

• be plain with    坦白對...講
• plain chocolate    純巧克力
• plain clothes    便衣警察, 便衣
• plain dealing    坦率
• plain flour    普通麵粉
• plain sailing    一帆風順
• plain time    普通工作時間

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 분명한, 평평한
adv. - 알기 쉽게, 전적으로
n. - 평지, 무지의 천

idioms:

• be plain with    솔직히 말해서

2.
v. intr. - 한탄하다, 슬퍼하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 平地, 平野, 大草原, 平原党, 無地の織物, 黒点のない白球
adj. - 明白な, 平易な, 全くの, 腹蔵のない, 不器量な, 単純な, 質素な, 簡素な, あっさりした, 平らな, 普通の
adv. - はっきりと, 率直に, 平らに

idioms:

• as plain as the nose on your face    きわめて明白な
• be plain with    平たく言う
• plain as a pikestaff    全く明白な
• plain chocolate    ブラックチョコレート
• plain clothes    平服
• plain dealing    正直な
• plain flour    パン粉を含まない小麦粉
• plain sailing    順調な進行
• plain time    規準内労働時間

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(ظرف) بصراحه, بسهوله, بوضوح (الاسم) مستو, منبسط, شيء بسيط غير مزخرف, محض, صرف (صفه) مخلص, صادق, جلي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פשוט, חלק, מכוער, ברור, גלוי-לב, גס‬
adv. - ‮בפשטות, באופן שאינו משתמע לשתי פנים, באופן ברור‬
n. - ‮מישור, ערבה‬
v. intr. - ‮התאבל על, קונן‬

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