Plain
[pleɪn] or [plen]
Definition
(noun.) extensive tract of level open land; 'they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain'; 'he longed for the fields of his youth'.
(adj.) lacking embellishment or ornamentation; 'a plain hair style'; 'unembellished white walls'; 'functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete' .
(adj.) free from any effort to soften to disguise; 'the plain and unvarnished truth'; 'the unvarnished candor of old people and children' .
(adj.) lacking patterns especially in color .
(adj.) not elaborate or elaborated; simple; 'plain food'; 'stuck to the plain facts'; 'a plain blue suit'; 'a plain rectangular brick building' .
(adj.) not mixed with extraneous elements; 'plain water'; 'sheer wine'; 'not an unmixed blessing' .
Typist: Vilma--From WordNet
Definition
(v. i.) To lament; to bewail; to complain.
(v. t.) To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss.
(superl.) Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane.
(superl.) Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
(superl.) Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable.
(superl.) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple.
(superl.) Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common.
(superl.) Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank.
(superl.) Not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food.
(superl.) Without beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman.
(superl.) Not variegated, dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin.
(superl.) Not much varied by modulations; as, a plain tune.
(adv.) In a plain manner; plainly.
(a.) Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies.
(a.) A field of battle.
(v.) To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface.
(v.) To make plain or manifest; to explain.
Typist: Stacey
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Even, level, smooth, flat, plane.[2]. Manifest, visible, obvious, clear, unmistakable, apparent, certain, palpable, conspicuous, notable, notorious, glaring, patent, open, evident.[3]. Unequivocal, unambiguous, distinct, explicit, intelligible, perspicuous.[4]. Simple, unadorned, unvarnished.[5]. Homely, ugly, ill-looking, ill-favored, not handsome.[6]. Artless, natural, honest, sincere, candid, frank, open, downright, direct, unsophisticated, ingenuous, undesigning, straightforward, single-minded, open-hearted, above-board.
n. Plateau, champaign, savanna, pampas, tableland, champaign country.
Checked by Fern
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Bulk, majority, body, principal, trunk, chief, leading, most_important, first
ANT:Portion, section, minority, branch, limb, tributary, member, subordinate,inferior
SYN:Level, even, flat, smooth, open, clear, unencumbered, unobstructed,uninterrupted, manifest, evident, obvious, unmistakable, simple, easy, natural,unaffected, homely, unsophisticated, open, unvarnished, unembellished,unreserved, artless
ANT:Uneven, undulating, rugged, rough, abrupt, broken, confused, encumbered,obstructed, interrupted, questionable, uncertain, dubious, ambiguous,enigmatical, hard, abstruse, affected, fair, beautiful, sophisticated, artful,varnished, embellished
Typed by Ada
Definition
v.t. and v.i. to complain: to lament.—ns. Plain′ant one who complains: a plaintiff; Plain′ing (Shak.) complaint.
adj. without elevations even flat: level smooth without obstructions: free from difficulties easy simple: without ornament or beauty homely: artless: sincere: evident unmistakable: mere: not coloured figured or variegated: not highly seasoned natural not cooked or dressed: not trumps at cards.—n. an extent of level land: an open field.—adv. clearly: distinctly.—v.t. (obs.) to make plain.—n.pl. Plain′-clothes clothes worn by an officer when off duty or not in uniform.—ns. Plain′-cook one able to cook all ordinary dishes; Plain′-deal′er one who deals or speaks his mind plainly.—adj. Plain′-deal′ing speaking or acting plainly candid.—n. candid speaking or acting sincerity.—adj. Plain′-heart′ed having a plain or honest heart: sincere.—n. Plain′-heart′edness.—adv. Plain′ly.—ns. Plain′ness; Plain′-song the music of a recitative-like character and sung in unison used in the Christian Church of the West from the earliest times and still in use in all R.C. churches: a simple air without variations: a plain unvarnished statement; Plain′-speak′ing straight-forwardness or bluntness of speech.—adj. Plain′-spok′en speaking with plain rough sincerity.—n.pl. Plain′stanes (Scot.) flagstones pavement.—n. Plain′work plain needlework as distinguished from embroidery.—Plain as a pikestaff perfectly plain or clear.
Typist: Loretta
Unserious Contents or Definition
For a young woman to dream of crossing a plain, denotes that she will be fortunately situated, if the grasses are green and luxuriant; if they are arid, or the grass is dead, she will have much discomfort and loneliness. See Prairie.
Checked by Debs
Examples
- He was always well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Under existing circumstances, however, she is dressed in a plain, spare gown of brown stuff. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- All the other furniture is plain and serviceable, you perceive. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I knew there were plenty of side-roads across the plain. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- We have been at some pains in this history to make plain the development of these differences. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- His speech had been whispered, broken, and indistinct; but by a great effort he had made it plain enough to be unmistakeable. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I see you there a many times, as plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Wandering savages or the inhabitants of open plains rarely possess more than one breed of the same species. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- I have not seen animals that moved faster, unless I might say it of the antelopes of our own great plains. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Many great cities and plains and deserts have been provided with these wells owing to the ease with which they can now be sunk. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- In the saddle --abroad on the plains--sleeping in beds bounded only by the horizon: fancy was at work with these things in a moment. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Cities situated in plains and remote from mountains are obliged to utilize the water of such streams as flow through the land, forcing it to the necessary height by means of pumps. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- They are generally sunk in valley plains and districts where the formation of the ground is such that that below the surface is bent into basin-shaped curves. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- They were, perhaps, not so far advanced along the nomadic line as the Scythians of the great plains. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I thought her, then, still more colourless and thin than when I had seen her last; the flashing eyes still brighter, and the scar still plainer. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Therefore I checked myself, and made my meaning plainer. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- In plainer terms still, the transaction, for anything that Lady Glyde knows to the contrary, may be a fraud upon her unborn children. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Never certainly have I seen a plainer confession of guilt upon human countenances. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- He said the countenance could disclose what was passing in the heart plainer than the tongue could. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The wagon rattled, jumped, almost flew, over the frozen ground; but plainer, and still plainer, came the noise of pursuing horsemen behind. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- Never did tone express indifference plainer. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- If that were so, my sacrifice was nothing; my plainest obligation to her unfulfilled; and every poor action I had shrunk from, I was hourly doing. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- As she was determined to have her answer, I gave it to her in the plainest possible form. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The disclosure of the conspiracy followed, after I had offered my preliminary explanation, first of all, in the fewest and the plainest words. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It was equally impossible to do the plainest right and to undo the plainest wrong without the express authority of the Circumlocution Office. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- All this is an object of the plainest experience, and depends not on any hypothesis of philosophy. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- I hesitate about Sir Percival, in the face of the plainest proofs. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I have now told her, in the plainest terms, that my apprehensions have been realised. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
Typed by Jeanette