Bland vs. Plain — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Bland and Plain
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Compare with 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.
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Plain
Having no pretensions; not remarkable or special
A plain, honest man with no nonsense about him
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
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
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