plain

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpleɪn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pleɪn/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(plān)

Inflections of 'plain' (adj):
plainer
adj comparative
plainest
adj superlative

Collocations for "plain"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "plain" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2025

plain

ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
adj
  1. plain [white, black, gray]
  2. a (rather) plain [woman, girl]
  3. has a very plain [personality, character]
  4. this [ice cream, color, dress] is very plain
  5. is just a plain old
  6. is just plain [wrong, silly, stupid]
  7. is plain and [unsatisfying, uninteresting]
  8. print on plain paper
  9. dressed in plain clothes
  10. [understand, face, tell] the plain truth
  11. [tell, explain it to] me in plain language
  12. was [sitting, hiding] in plain [view, sight]
  13. the [idea, suggestion, attempt] was plain stupidity
  14. the [answer, hotel, room] is plain and simple
  15. is plain and simple (that)
  16. his [joy, excitement] was plain to see
  17. is plain to see that
  18. has been made plain to me that
n
  1. the [African, desert, coastal, flat, vast, high, arid] plains
  2. the [land, area, region] consists (mainly) of plains
  3. the [area] is made up of plains
  4. wild [animals, elephants, zebras] roam the plains
  5. the [wind, storm] blew across the plain
  6. [mist, smoke, shadows, fog] drifted across the plain
additional examples
  1. the [African, desert, coastal, flat, vast, high, arid] plains
  2. plain [white, black, gray]
  3. the [land, area, region] consists (mainly) of plains
  4. a (rather) plain [woman, girl]
  5. the [area] is made up of plains
  6. has a very plain [personality, character]
  7. wild [animals, elephants, zebras] roam the plains
  8. this [ice cream, color, dress] is very plain
  9. the [wind, storm] blew across the plain
  10. is just a plain old
  11. [mist, smoke, shadows, fog] drifted across the plain
  12. is just plain [wrong, silly, stupid]
  13. is plain and [unsatisfying, uninteresting]
  14. print on plain paper
  15. dressed in plain clothes
  16. a plain-clothes [police officer, policeman]
  17. [understand, face, tell] the plain truth
  18. [tell, explain it to] me in plain language
  19. was [sitting, hiding] in plain [view, sight]
  20. the [idea, suggestion, attempt] was plain stupidity
  21. the [answer, hotel, room] is plain and simple
  22. is plain and simple (that)
  23. his [joy, excitement] was plain to see
  24. is plain to see that
  25. has been made plain to me that
'plain' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
English - annoyance - background - cape - carpet - ceiling - clog - cotton - covering - cuff - curtain - cushion - daily - drape - duvet - elephant - fabric - fitted - flour - format - hidden - hide - jumper - lazy - linen - living - lonely - message - mug - ordinary - outside - packaging - pants - paper - paste - purse - robbery - rug - serendipity - shawl - sheet - shirt - skirt - suit - tablet - tie - top - ugly - vanilla - vanish

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