Bland vs. Plain — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Bland and Plain
ADVERTISEMENT
Definitions
Bland➦
Pleasant in manner; smooth
A bland smile.
Plain➦
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and are primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands.In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides, but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains, or by cliffs.
Bland➦
Not irritating or stimulating; soothing
A bland diet.
Plain➦
Not decorated or elaborate; simple or basic in character
Everyone dined at a plain wooden table
Good plain food
Bland➦
Exhibiting no personal worry, embarrassment, or concern
Told a series of bland lies.
Plain➦
Having no pretensions; not remarkable or special
A plain, honest man with no nonsense about him
ADVERTISEMENT
Bland➦
Dull and insipid
A bland little drama.
Plain➦
Easy to perceive or understand; clear
The advantages were plain to see
It was plain that something was wrong
Bland➦
Having little or no distinctive flavor
Bland cooking.
Plain➦
(of a person) not beautiful or attractive
A plain, round-faced woman
Bland➦
Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.
A bland oil
A bland diet
Plain➦
Sheer; simple (used for emphasis)
The main problem is just plain exhaustion
ADVERTISEMENT
Bland➦
Lacking in taste or flavor.
The coffee was bland.
Plain➦
Denoting or relating to a type of knitting stitch produced by putting the needle through the front of each stitch from left to right.
Bland➦
Lacking in vigor.
Plain➦
Used for emphasis
Perhaps the youth was just plain stupid
Bland➦
(figurative) Lacking interest; boring; dull.
Plain➦
Clearly or unequivocally
I'm finished with you, I'll tell you plain
Bland➦
Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
Plain➦
A large area of flat land with few trees
The coastal plain
Bland➦
To mix; blend; mingle.
Plain➦
Mourn or lament.
Bland➦
To connect; associate.
Plain➦
Free from obstructions; open; clear
In plain view.
Bland➦
Mixture; union.
Plain➦
Obvious to the perception or mind; evident
Make one's intention plain.
Bland➦
A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.
Plain➦
Not elaborate or complicated; simple
Plain food.
Bland➦
Mild; soft; gentle; smooth and soothing in manner; suave; as, a bland temper; bland persuasion; a bland sycophant.
Plain➦
Marked by little or no ornamentation or decoration
Plain garb.
Bland➦
Having soft and soothing qualities; not drastic or irritating; not stimulating; as, a bland oil; a bland diet.
Plain➦
Straightforward; frank or candid
Plain talk.
Bland➦
Lacking either stimulating or irritating characteristics;
A bland pudding
A bland diet for her irritated stomach
Plain➦
Not pretentious; unaffected.
Bland➦
Lacking taste or flavor or tang;
A bland diet
Insipid hospital food
Flavorless supermarket tomatoes
Vapid beer
Vapid tea
Plain➦
Lacking beauty or distinction
A plain face.
Bland➦
Lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting;
A bland little drama
A flat joke
Plain➦
Not mixed with other substances; pure
Plain water.
Plain➦
Common in rank or station; average; ordinary
A plain man.
Plain➦
Not dyed, twilled, or patterned
A plain fabric.
Plain➦
Sheer; utter; unqualified
Plain stupidity.
Plain➦
(Archaic) Having no visible elevation or depression; flat; level.
Plain➦
Often plains An extensive, level, usually treeless area of land.
Plain➦
A broad level expanse, as a part of the sea floor or a lunar mare.
Plain➦
Something free of ornamentation or extraneous matter.
Plain➦
Clearly; simply
Plain stubborn.
Plain➦
Flat, level.
Plain➦
Simple, unaltered.
Plain➦
Ordinary; lacking adornment or ornamentation; unembellished.
He was dressed simply in plain black clothes.
A plain tune
Plain➦
Of just one colour; lacking a pattern.
A plain pink polycotton skirt
Plain➦
Simple in habits or qualities; unsophisticated, not exceptional, ordinary.
They're just plain people like you or me.
Plain➦
(of food) Having only few ingredients, or no additional ingredients or seasonings; not elaborate, without toppings or extras.
Would you like a poppy bagel or a plain bagel?
Plain➦
(computing) Containing no extended or nonprinting characters (especially in plain text).
Plain➦
Obvious.
Plain➦
Evident to one's senses or reason; manifest, clear, unmistakable.
Plain➦
Downright; total, unmistakable (as intensifier).
His answer was just plain nonsense.
Plain➦
Open.
Plain➦
Honest and without deception; candid, open; blunt.
Let me be plain with you: I don't like her.
Plain➦
Clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
Plain➦
Not unusually beautiful; unattractive.
Throughout high school she worried that she had a rather plain face.
Plain➦
(card games) Not a trump.
Plain➦
(obsolete) Full, complete in number or extent.
Plain➦
(colloquial) Simply.
It was just plain stupid.
I plain forgot.
Plain➦
(archaic) Plainly; distinctly.
Tell me plain: do you love me or no?
Plain➦
A lamentation.
Plain➦
An expanse of land with relatively low relief, usually exclusive of forests, deserts, and wastelands.
Plain➦
(archaic) field in reference to a battlefield.
Plain➦
(obsolete) plane: a flat geometric field.
Plain➦
To complain.
Plain➦
To lament, bewail.
To plain a loss
Plain➦
To level; to raze; to make plain or even on the surface.
Plain➦
To make plain or manifest; to explain.
Plain➦
To lament; to bewail; to complain.
We with piteous heart unto you pleyne.
Plain➦
To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss.
Plain➦
To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface.
We would rake Europe rather, plain the East.
Plain➦
To make plain or manifest; to explain.
What's dumb in show, I'll plain in speech.
Plain➦
Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane.
The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
Plain➦
Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair.
Our troops beat an army in plain fight.
Plain➦
Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable.
Plain➦
Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple.
Plain➦
In a plain manner; plainly.
Plain➦
Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies.
Descending fro the mountain into playn.
Him the AmmoniteWorshiped in Rabba and her watery plain.
Plain➦
A field of battle.
Lead forth my soldiers to the plain.
Plain➦
Extensive tract of level open land;
They emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain
He longed for the fields of his youth
Plain➦
A basic knitting stitch
Plain➦
Express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness;
My mother complains all day
She has a lot to kick about
Plain➦
Clearly apparent or obvious to the mind or senses;
The effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields
Evident hostility
Manifest disapproval
Patent advantages
Made his meaning plain
It is plain that he is no reactionary
In plain view
Plain➦
Not elaborate or elaborated; simple;
Plain food
Stuck to the plain facts
A plain blue suit
A plain rectangular brick building
Plain➦
Lacking patterns especially in color
Plain➦
Not mixed with extraneous elements;
Plain water
Sheer wine
Not an unmixed blessing
Plain➦
Free from any effort to soften to disguise;
The plain and unvarnished truth
The unvarnished candor of old people and children
Plain➦
Lacking embellishment or ornamentation;
A plain hair style
Unembellished white walls
Functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete
Plain➦
Lacking stylistic embellishment;
A literal description
Wrote good but plain prose
A plain unadorned account of the coronation
A forthright unembellished style
Plain➦
Comprehensible to the general public;
Written for the popular press in plain nontechnical language
Plain➦
Lacking in physical beauty or proportion;
A homely child
Several of the buildings were downright homely
A plain girl with a freckled face
Plain➦
Unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly');
The answer is obviously wrong
She was in bed and evidently in great pain
He was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list
It is all patently nonsense
She has apparently been living here for some time
I thought he owned the property, but apparently not
You are plainly wrong
He is plain stubborn
