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
The rainbow sheen of petroleum was plainly visible in nearby surface water.
—
Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Hyperliquid's risk environment has been described plainly in the disclosure documents of the ETFs now tracking HYPE.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The president plainly wants change and seems to savor the possibility of finally bringing down the remnants of the Castro leadership.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 20 May 2026
To put it plainly, there is no foreboding El Niño cloud that will appear above your house, and many random weather events will still occur that have few, if any, tangible links to the weather phenomenon.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
What kind of developer puts his money into an indie documentary that might give his business-as-usual peers — not to mention investors, luxury condo buyers and other beneficiaries of Miami’s prolonged but problematic and plainly inequitable real-estate boom — a conniption?
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 18 May 2026
Gaspar’s campaign disputed Girvan’s characterization of the encounter, saying the exchange took place publicly onstage immediately after the debate while recording equipment remained plainly visible.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 14 May 2026
Say the plan plainly and notice who is ready to help.
—Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
Mladenov stated plainly that the plan envisioned in the ceasefire was off to a rocky start.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Hyperliquid's risk environment has been described plainly in the disclosure documents of the ETFs now tracking HYPE.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The president plainly wants change and seems to savor the possibility of finally bringing down the remnants of the Castro leadership.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 20 May 2026
To put it plainly, there is no foreboding El Niño cloud that will appear above your house, and many random weather events will still occur that have few, if any, tangible links to the weather phenomenon.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
What kind of developer puts his money into an indie documentary that might give his business-as-usual peers — not to mention investors, luxury condo buyers and other beneficiaries of Miami’s prolonged but problematic and plainly inequitable real-estate boom — a conniption?
—Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 18 May 2026
Gaspar’s campaign disputed Girvan’s characterization of the encounter, saying the exchange took place publicly onstage immediately after the debate while recording equipment remained plainly visible.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 14 May 2026
Say the plan plainly and notice who is ready to help.
—Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2026
Mladenov stated plainly that the plan envisioned in the ceasefire was off to a rocky start.
—Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plainly
Adverb
-
Last fall, former Chief Floyd Mitchell openly criticized the stringent nature of federal court oversight while resigning from the department after just a year and a half on the job, leaving the agency searching for a new leader for at least the 10th time since 2015.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
-
Saalt leaned heavily into tutorials, quizzes, blogs, TikTok Lives, and social storytelling to answer consumer questions openly and directly.—
Tanya Benedicto Klich,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adverb
-
What Bryant explains is that the Giants locker room almost certainly doesn't care about someone's political opinions.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
-
On Saturday night, the rapper’s first headlining solo show since at least 2019 was certainly a reinforcement that Jay-Z is still one of the best rappers alive, if not the preeminent emcee of his generation.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
31 May 2026
Adverb
-
Basically, no matter how soap-y the show gets, Akerman permits the audience to buy into and sincerely enjoy the Hunting Wives ridiculousness.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
-
Take a few extra moments to double-check your space, thank your host sincerely, and leave on a warm, unhurried note.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
22 May 2026
Adverb
-
The Avalanche, however wounded, however shamed, however desperate, surely know better than to cross it.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
To begin with, the community is run by Blaine Shaw (Seth Numrich), surely the slickest scammer of old folks since John Mahoney’s nursing-home embezzler in 1989’s Say Anything.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Adverb
-
The computing power needs, the competition from Anthropic, the potential for a more business-to-business stream of revenue, the fear that all of the big institutions that own it will want to cash out, makes this one plain fraught.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
-
The decision after review to award a penalty against Palace defender Jaydee Canvot for accidental handball on the goal line was plain wrong in law.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Adverb
-
Celebrities dress to impress at Cannes, and Dern’s outfit at this year’s film festival definitely hit the mark.—
Mia Huelsbeck,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
In between those two events, this rising pop star from New Zealand — boasting a sound that would definitely appeal to fans of Lorde — sat down with me for interview in the media room at BottleRock.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Adverb
-
The snowy first look released by Apple back in March honestly bares some cursory resemblance to the snowy, period, Eastern European setting that the AI prompt manages to generate — which again is just for a storyboard!—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
2 June 2026
-
Frustration, because too much of the public conversation defaults toward blaming parents while failing to grapple honestly with the cultural shift in our society that is shaping these gatherings.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
Adverb
-
People drifted in and out of the museum, some clearly drawn more by the free wine and empanadas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
Ruben clearly felt very vulnerable as a child for obvious reasons.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plainly. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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