plainly
English
Etymology
plain + -ly
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpleɪnli/
Audio (US) (file)
Adverb
plainly (comparative plainlier or more plainly, superlative plainliest or most plainly)
- In a plain manner; simply; basically.
- She decorated the room plainly but neatly.
- Obviously; clearly.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
- The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.
- 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 95:
- 'Tell me plainly what you think of my daughter's little companion.'
- You will see that ours is plainly the better method.
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Translations
In a plain manner
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Obviously; clearly
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