1
as in openly
in an honest and direct manner
you'll have to tell your relatives very plainly that you don't like perfume, or they'll keep giving it to you
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in certainly
without any question
your wife is plainly upset that you didn't invite her to the game with us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plainly
Speak plainly — clarity protects the interests of everyone involved.
—
Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 Jan. 2026
McDaniel put the situation quite plainly in his end of year press conference.
—Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2026
The retooling emperor has been disrobed and rightly ridiculed by those far enough removed from the halls of power to speak plainly, the truth now apparent for all to see.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
But the arrests of the Maduros were plainly the cover for a scheme to seize Venezuela’s vast petroleum reserves and exploit them for the benefit of American oil companies.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
But the arrests were plainly cover for a scheme to seize and exploit Venezuela’s vast petroleum reserves to further enrich American oil companies.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
But do not speculate, guess, or spread stories that are plainly false and deeply harmful.
—Riley Moser, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
The Communist Party plainly hopes that AI technology will offer a solution to the country’s economic malaise—a way to restore growth without resorting to the kinds of reforms that might loosen the party’s grip on power.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Speak plainly to accelerate teamwork and make real progress.
—Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plainly
Adverb
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Combs says another reason younger generations are so susceptible to this is because they were raised in households where money was rarely openly discussed, leaving them ill-equipped to ask direct financial questions or understand whether they’re financially aligned with their partner early on.—
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Activists and Iranians in the country are painting a different picture, saying security forces are openly brandishing military rifles and shooting civilians.—
Adverb
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Jessie Buckley is almost certainly going to win an Oscar come March.—
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Skinny Pedro must certainly have fallen victim to some kind of sorcery.—
Adverb
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And then there’s Hanse, who sincerely assumed he was brought on to be the preserver of tradition.—
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It certainly can be deployed sincerely, yet it’s almost always accompanied by a good-natured, perhaps slightly exasperated, shake of the head.—
Adverb
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But Arca always told me to trust him, and surely enough, the song was a hit.—
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In what is surely the most pawsome news of the day, this means there's an entirely new, adorable, and totally adoptable lineup of furry players to root for.—
Adverb
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But there’s something very useful about laying plain how easy this test should be for the leader of the free world, and how anyone who boasts about crushing it has, in many aspects, failed it in a brand-new way.—
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Most of us are simply not used to being this frequently upset, enraged, infuriated, or just plain disgusted by public occurrences.—
Adverb
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Tankaneo Double-Breasted Cropped Trench My number-one petite fashion hack is to buy cropped styles that’ll be full-length on my shorter frame, and this trench definitely delivers.—
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That's definitely a skeleton crew, as the current nominal crew size for the ISS is seven.—
Adverb
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Just every player on the team, honestly.—
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Oh, honestly, a little bit of both.—
Adverb
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Ahmad Moten was fortunate not to be called for what was clearly a late hit.—
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But Ocampo says it cannot clearly be determined whether that was the case or if they were discounted shipments, with some kind of quid pro quo — perhaps the deployment of doctors — or as humanitarian aid.—
Cite this Entry
“Plainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plainly. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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