as in spartan
providing only the essentials and nothing fancy or luxurious
a low-cost, no-frills vacation during which we camped out and cooked our own meals
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Recent Examples of no-frills
That evening, the wait was only about 30 minutes before I was seated in one of the 15 booths inside the no-frills dining room.
—
Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2026
Sturm wants to see more of a no-frills game from the Finn.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
Open since 1984, the no-frills seafood shack is all about delivering the freshest seafood in a friendly, neighborhood environment.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Most ski-touring lodges are no-frills huts that cater to hardy mountaineers who’d balk at the idea of taking a gondola or a lift.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for no-frills
Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2026
Sturm wants to see more of a no-frills game from the Finn.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
Open since 1984, the no-frills seafood shack is all about delivering the freshest seafood in a friendly, neighborhood environment.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
Most ski-touring lodges are no-frills huts that cater to hardy mountaineers who’d balk at the idea of taking a gondola or a lift.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for no-frills
Recent Examples of Synonyms for no-frills
Adjective
-
The modern extension in the rear of the 19th-century main villa is an elegantly spartan affair that somehow complements the 19th-century edifice and brings in the surrounding foliage.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Mar. 2026
-
His solution is to hide technology behind spartan interfaces.—
Diana Budds,
Architectural Digest,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In Catanzaro Lido, a beach town along the Ionian coast, meals tend to be simple and communal.—
Jenna Curcio,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
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In her first interview since becoming head of content at Disney+ EMEA, Angela Jain has said the message to writers and producers is simple, the streamer is going to greenlight more originals from the region and will be backing that effort with extra funds for local fare.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The documentaries tended to be distanced, austere, observational; those that focused on the past (such as 2005’s Blockade, about the WWII siege of Leningrad, or 2019’s State Funeral, about the funeral of Stalin) were often built entirely from archival footage.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
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The overall interior aesthetic feels more austere than luxurious, bordering on utilitarian.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“No-frills.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-frills. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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