Thesaurus
plain
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of PLAIN
1
free from all additions or embellishment <I like my hamburgers plain, with no ketchup or relish> <just give us the plain facts and none of your snide comments>
Synonyms bald, bare, naked, plain-vanilla, simple, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, unornamented, unvarnished
Related Words denuded, divested, stripped; au naturel, earthy, elemental, homely, natural, unsophisticated; forthright, honest, modest, unpretentious; clean; antiseptic, austere, bleak, severe, spartan, stark; minimalist; inconspicuous, muted, restrained, sober, subdued, toned (down), unobtrusive; conservative, quiet, understated
Near Antonyms flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, glittery, glitzy, loud, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank (or swanky), tawdry; bedizened, florid, lurid, ornate; exaggerated, overdecorated, overdone, overwrought; baroque, elaborate, extravagant, ornate, rococo; appareled (or apparelled), arrayed, bedecked, decked-out, dressed, embroidered, garnished, trimmed
2
free from added matter <I'd prefer my pasta plain, not flavored with tomato or spinach or anything else>
Synonyms absolute, fine, neat, plain, purified, refined, straight, unadulterated, unalloyed, undiluted, unmixed
Related Words clarified, filtered; clean, fresh, taintless, uncontaminated, uncorrupted, undefiled, unpolluted, untainted; rendered, tried; concentrated, full-bodied, strong; uncombined
Near Antonyms befouled, besmirched, contaminated, corrupted, debased, defiled, fouled, polluted, soiled, spoiled, sullied, tainted; unclarified; amalgamated, blended, coalesced, combined, commingled, compounded, incorporated, intermingled, intermixed, merged, mingled; conjoined, fused, joined, linked, united; cheapened, doctored, watered-down
3
free in expressing one's true feelings and opinions <their piano teacher is honest and plain, if not always tactful>
Synonyms candid, direct, forthcoming, forthright, foursquare, freehearted, free-spoken, honest, open, openhearted, out-front, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight, straightforward, unguarded, unreserved, up-front
Related Words artless, earnest, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, naive (or naïve), natural, real, sincere, unaffected, undesigning, unpretending, unpretentious; outgoing, uninhibited, unrestrained; vocal, vociferous; abrupt, bluff, blunt, brusque (also brusk), crusty, curt, gruff, sharp; impertinent, impolite, inconsiderate, rude, tactless, thoughtless, uncivil, undiplomatic, ungracious, unmannerly, unsubtle
Near Antonyms inhibited, reserved, restrained; close-mouthed, laconic, quiet, reticent, taciturn, tight-lipped, uncommunicative; ambiguous, circuitous, equivocal, evasive; diplomatic, politic, tactful; civil, considerate, courteous, polite
4
going straight to the point clearly and firmly <a plain report on the current situation>
Related Words aboveboard, candid, frank, free-spoken, honest, open, openhearted, outspoken, plainspoken, unguarded, unreserved; artless, earnest, sincere; uninhibited, unrestrained; abrupt, bluff, blunt, brusque (also brusk), curt, gruff, point-blank, sharp; impolite, inconsiderate, rude, tactless, undiplomatic; true, truthful, veracious
Near Antonyms circumlocutory, long-winded, prolix, verbose, wordy; inhibited, reserved, restrained; civil, courteous, polite, tactful; deceitful, lying, mendacious, untruthful; erroneous, fallacious, false; ambiguous, equivocal, evasive, misleading; double-dealing, hypocritical, two-faced
5
not subject to misinterpretation or more than one interpretation <let me make my meaning plain>
Synonyms apparent, bald, bald-faced, barefaced, bright-line, broad, clear-cut, crystal clear, decided, distinct, evident, lucid, luculent, luminous, manifest, nonambiguous, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, ringing, straightforward, transparent, unambiguous, unambivalent, unequivocal, unmistakable
Related Words cognizable, cognoscible, comprehendible, comprehensible, digestible, fathomable, graspable, intelligible, knowable, understandable; self-evident, self-explanatory; clean-cut, simple, tidy, uncomplicated; overt, undisguised; appreciable, perceptible, recognizable, sensible, tangible; discernible (also discernable), noticeable, observable, visible; black-and-white, explicit, trenchant, well-defined; clean, decipherable, fair, legible, readable
Near Antonyms incomprehensible, indecipherable, unfathomable, unintelligible, unknowable; impalpable, imperceptible, inappreciable, indiscernible, insensible; cloudy, gauzy, gray (also grey), hazy, imprecise, indefinite, indeterminate, misty, murky, nebulous, noncommital, sketchy, slippery, subtle, vague; illegible, undecipherable, unreadable
Antonyms ambiguous, clouded, cryptic, dark, enigmatic (also enigmatical), equivocal, indistinct, mysterious, nonobvious, obfuscated, obscure, unapparent, unclarified, unclear, unclouded
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