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plain

plain

50 2.5
Not attractive to look at
  • adjective
  • /pleɪn/
translation icon : poco atractivo
  • A plain girl, rather homely.

And not to be mean, but she seemed very plain, very Paxon Kanye fan.

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Examples

  • In fact, they were rather plain for a high-class family of the time.

    Academic text (2010)
  • It's difficult because I'm a plain man.

  • My husband was not famous or rich, and we lived in a plain house on a flat street.

    Academic text (2002)
  • "And you will always look beautiful to me, no matter how plain the garment."

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Her hair was done in tight braids today, and her plain face looked polished.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • There is a police stenographer, a plain young woman in her 20s.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • She felt quite plain at the party, especially next to her elegantly dressed friends.

  • Despite her warm personality, she was often described as plain, lacking the glamour of others.

  • Many people found her style plain, as she preferred simple and understated clothing.

Synonyms

homely
vsplain
  • Offensive
9 6.7

Not attractive to look at

is a milder term noting lack of pleasing proportion rather than blunt unattractiveness
pictureless
vsplain
1 6.5

Looks plain and not attractive

focuses on missing beauty or proportion rather than on scenic lack
glamourless
vsplain
5.5

Looks plain and not attractive or exciting

highlights lack of simple physical beauty rather than missing glamour

Antonyms

1.0

Pleasant to see, hear, or think about

680 1.0

Pleasing to look at or enjoy and making people interested

Idioms

Easily seen because it is not hidden

3 5.2

To be easy to see but not noticed by others

2 4.8

Easy to see but not noticed because it looks ordinary

1 2.8

Easy to do and without problems after it starts

Compounds

5 3.7

Flat land next to a river that often floods when the river rises

Ordinary clothes that let people in uniform blend in

A flat low area of land next to the sea

alluvial plain
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A flat area of land near a river with rich soil left by floods

A very large dry plain in southern Australia with few trees and little water

1 1.0

Flour without baking powder used for baking and cooking

1 3.9

A large flat area of land covered with salt after salt water dries

A police officer who wears ordinary clothes while working to avoid attention

Honest and open way of acting without hiding anything

5.3

A basic knitting move where you push the needle through the front of a loop

plain wanderer
  • Australian
9.9

A small Australian bird that lives in open grasslands

plain weave
  • Specialized
5.3

A simple cloth pattern where threads go over then under each other

plain-woven
  • Specialized
4.9

Cloth made by crossing threads over and under in a simple pattern

A large flat grassland in northern Tanzania with many wild animals

How Attractive

stunning
210 3.7
beautiful
1.0
pretty
1.0
plain
50 2.5
ugly
  • Offensive
1 2.0

Surface Forms

plain positive
plainer comparative
plainest superlative

Etymology

Plain originally meant 'simple' or 'not decorated' from Latin planus 'flat', so calling a person plain means their appearance is ordinary rather than decorated or showy. This links the old idea of 'simple' to the modern meaning of not being especially beautiful.