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not decorated or complicated; simple 不尚修饰的；朴素的；简单的 a plain but elegant dress 朴素淡雅的连衣裙 plain food 清淡的食物 The interior of the church was plain and simple. 教堂内部朴素无华。 plain yogurt (= without sugar or fruit) 原味酸奶
Homophones plain | planeplain plane- plain adjective
She likes plain food, without sauces or cheese. 她喜欢简单的食物，不加酱汁或奶酪。
- plain noun
Wheat is still grown on the Lombardy plain. 伦巴第平原上仍然种植小麦。
- plane noun
They recently flew into London on a private plane. 他们最近乘私人飞机飞往伦敦。
- plane verb
You may need to plane the surface for a smoother fit. 您可能需要平整表面以获得更平滑的贴合。
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesb2The dress was absolutely plain, but quite stunning. 这件裙装非常简单，但是十分漂亮。 The food was fairly plain, but well cooked. 虽然都是家常菜，但是做得很好。 I prefer plain, simple things. 我更喜欢简单明了的东西。 He eats his popcorn plain. 他吃他的爆米花。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- plain blue, white, etc.
-
without marks or a pattern on it 素的；无花纹的；单色的 Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashionb2Patterned carpet shows the dirt less than a plain colour. 花色地毯比单色地毯耐脏。 a range of plain and printed linens 一系列素色和印花亚麻布 Do you want plain or lined paper? 你想要白纸还是条格纸？ a plain white shirt 纯白色衬衫
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- plain blue, white, etc.
-
easy to see or understand 清楚的；明显的；浅白的 He made it plain that we should leave. 他明确表示要我们离开。 She made her annoyance plain. 她满脸不耐烦。 The facts were plain to see. 事实显而易见。 It was a rip-off, plain and simple. 这是一个不折不扣的冒牌货。 - plain to somebody
It is all very plain to me. 在我看来非常清楚。 - it is plain (to somebody) that…
It was plain that she wanted to leave. 很明显，她想离开。 - it is plain (to somebody) how, what, etc….
It was plain to everyone just how dangerous the site could be. 每个人都清楚这个地方有多危险。 - plain from something (that…)
What is quite plain from the evidence before me is (that) the figures are false. 从摆在我面前的证据来看，很明显这些数字是假的。
Synonyms clearclear- obvious
- apparent
- evident
- plain
- clear easy to see or understand and leaving no doubts:
It was quite clear to me that she was lying. 我十分清楚她在撒谎。
- obvious easy to see or understand:
It’s obvious from what he said that something is wrong. 根据他所说的，显然是出问题了。
- apparent [not usually before noun] (rather formal
) easy to see or understand: 指明显的、显然的、易理解的： It was apparent from her face that she was really upset. 从面容上一眼就可以看出她确实心绪烦乱。
- evident (rather formal
) easy to see or understand: 指明显的、显然的、易理解的： The orchestra played with evident enjoyment. 管弦乐队演奏得兴致勃勃。
- plain easy to see or understand:
He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave. 他明确表示要我们离开。
- These words all have almost exactly the same meaning. There are slight differences in register and patterns of use. If you make something clear/plain, you do so deliberately because you want people to understand something; if you make something obvious, you usually do it without meaning to:
- I hope I make myself obvious.
- Try not to make it so clear/plain.
- an evident case of something.
- clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain to somebody/something
- clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain that/what/who/how/where/why…
- to seem/become/make something clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
- perfectly/quite/very clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
Extra ExamplesThey made it plain that they were against the idea. 他们明确表示反对这个观点。 Within weeks, it became perfectly plain that we were in the grip of a tyrant. 没过几个星期，事情就变得很清楚了：我们落在了暴君手里。 He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave. 他明确表示要我们离开。 Her intentions were plain enough. 她的意图再清楚不过。 It was plain to us that they had left fairly recently. 对我们来说，他们显然是最近才离开的。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- seem
- become
- …
- fairly
- very
- etc.
- …
- to
not trying to trick anyone; honest and direct 坦诚的；直率的；直接的 The plain fact is that nobody really knows. 事实很明显，没有人真正了解。 a politician with a reputation for plain speaking 说话直率出了名的一个政治人物 - (especially North American English)
a plain, straightforward sort of man 一个朴素、直率的人
Synonyms plainplain- simple
- stark
- bare
- unequivocal
- plain used for talking about a fact that other people may not like to hear; honest and direct in a way that other people may not like:
The plain fact is that nobody really knows. 事实很明显，没有人真正了解。
- simple [only before noun] used for talking about a fact that other people may not like to hear; very obvious and not complicated by anything else:
The simple truth is that we just can’t afford it. 事实很简单，我们就是付不起。
plain or simple? 用 plain 还是 simple？ - stark (rather formal
) used for describing an unpleasant fact or difference that is very obvious: 用于描述令人不快的事实或区别十分明显、鲜明： The stark truth is that there is not enough money left. 明摆着的事实是剩下的钱已经不够了。
- bare [only before noun] the most basic or simple, with nothing extra:
She gave me only the bare facts of the case. 她只给我介绍了这个案件的一些基本资料。
- unequivocal (formal
) expressing your opinion or intention very clearly and firmly: 指表达明确的、毫不含糊的、斩钉截铁的： The reply was an unequivocal ‘no’. 回答是个干脆利落的“不”字。
- the plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal truth
- a(n) plain/simple/stark/bare/unequivocal fact/statement
- a(n) plain/simple/unequivocal answer
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesc1He prided himself on being a plain, honest man with no nonsense about him. 他为自己是个朴素、诚实、规规矩矩的人而感到自豪。 Let's be plain about this: we will need to make some difficult choices. 我们还是直截了当地说吧：我们得作出艰苦的抉择。
- [only before noun]
used to emphasize that something is very ordinary, not special in any way 极普通的；平庸的；平凡的 (especially of a woman 尤指女人 not beautiful or attractive 相貌平平的；无姿色的 She looked very plain and dowdy. 她长得非常普通，衣也过时。 a rather plain woman 长得相当不起眼的女子 As a child she was rather plain. 她小时候相貌平平。
describing a simple stitch used in knitting （编织）平针的，平纹的
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French plain, from Latin planus, from a base meaning ‘flat’.
Idioms
be plain sailing
(North American English be clear/smooth sailing)
to be simple and free from trouble 顺利；一帆风顺
in plain English
simply and clearly expressed, without using technical language 用平白的言语（或文字） a document written in plain English 用简单英语写的文件 If you could put it in plain English I might be able to understand. 如果你能用简单的英语说出来，我也许能理解。 Teachers should encourage students to write in plain English. 教师应鼓励学生用平白的英文写作。
(as) plain as a pikestaff | (as) plain as day | (as) plain as the nose on your face
very obvious 一清二楚；一目了然；显而易见