plain in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for plain in the English»French Dictionary

I.plain [Brit pleɪn, Am pleɪn] N

1. plain GEOG:

plain

plaine f

on the plain

dans la plaine

the (Great) Plains Am

les Grandes Plaines

2. plain (knitting stitch):

plain

maille f à l'endroit

a row of plain

un rang à l'endroit

II.plain [Brit pleɪn, Am pleɪn] ADJ

1. plain (simple):

plain dress, decor, food, living, language

simple

plain building, furniture

sobre

plain cooking

cuisine f simple

she's a good plain cook

elle fait une bonne cuisine simple

a plain man

un homme simple

2. plain (of one colour):

plain background, fabric

uni

plain envelope

sans inscription

a sheet of plain paper (unheaded)

une feuille de papier libre

a sheet of plain paper (unlined)

une feuille de papier non reglé

a plain blue dress

une robe toute bleue

under plain cover (of a letter)

sous pli discret

3. plain (unattractive) euph:

plain woman

quelconque

she's rather plain

elle a un visage quelconque, elle n'a rien d'une beauté

4. plain (clear):

plain line, marking

net/nette

in plain view of sb

sous les yeux de qn

5. plain (obvious):

plain

évident, clair

it was plain to everyone that he was lying

il était évident pour tout le monde qu'il mentait

it's a plain fact that …

il est bien clair que …

it is plain from this report that …

il est clair d'après ce rapport que …

she's jealous, it's plain to see

elle est jalouse, ça saute aux yeux

her suffering was plain to see

on ne pouvait pas ignorer sa souffrance

to make it plain to sb that …

faire comprendre clairement à qn que …

let me make myself quite plain, I'm not going

que ce soit bien clair, je n'y vais pas

do I make myself plain?

suis-je bien clair?

she made her irritation quite plain

elle n'a pas caché son irritation

6. plain (direct):

plain answer, language

franc/franche

can't you speak in plain English?

tu ne peux pas parler en termes simples?

in plain English, this means that …

en clair, ceci veut dire que …

the plain truth of the matter is that …

la vérité est que …

7. plain (downright):

plain tjrs attr common sense

simple

plain attr ignorance, laziness

pur et simple

8. plain (ordinary):

I knew him when he was plain Mr Spencer

je l'ai connu quand il s'appelait M. Spencer tout court

9. plain (unflavoured):

plain yoghurt, crisps, rice

nature

10. plain (in knitting):

plain

à l'endroit

III.plain [Brit pleɪn, Am pleɪn] ADV

1. plain (completely):

plain stupid, wrong

tout bonnement, tout simplement

plain lazy

tout bonnement paresseux

2. plain (directly):

I can't put it any plainer than that

je ne peux pas être plus clair

IV.plain [Brit pleɪn, Am pleɪn]

to be as plain as day

être clair comme l'eau de roche

to be plain sailing project, task etc:

marcher comme sur des roulettes

plain-spoken ADJ

plain-spoken

direct

plain text N

plain text COMPUT, TELEC

texte m en clair

plain speaking N U

plain speaking

franchise f

there was plenty of plain speaking

tout le monde a eu son franc-parler

I.plain clothes N npl

to wear plain clothes , to be in plain clothes

être en civil

II.plain-clothes ADJ

plain-clothes tjrs attr policeman, customs officer:

plain-clothes

en civil

plain dealing N

plain dealing

honnêteté f

plain Jane N inf

she's rather a plain Jane

ce n'est pas une beauté

plain flour N FOOD

plain flour

farine f (sans levure)

plain chocolate N

plain chocolate

chocolat m à croquer

plain speaker N

plain speaker

personne f qui a son franc-parler

plain in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for plain in the English»French Dictionary

I.plain [pleɪn] ADJ

1. plain (one colour):

plain

uni(e)

2. plain (unflavoured):

plain yoghurt

nature

plain chocolate

chocolat m noir

3. plain (uncomplicated):

plain clothes, cookery

très simple

a plain wooden table

une table en bois toute simple

plain and simple

pur(e) et simple

4. plain (clear, obvious):

plain

clair(e)

in plain language

en langage clair

it's plain that ...

il est clair que ...

to be plain enough

être assez clair

to make sth plain

ne pas faire mystère de qc

to make oneself plain to sb

se rendre clair à qn

to be plain with sb

être clair avec qn

5. plain (mere, pure):

plain truth, torture

pur(e)

it's plain selfishness

c'est de l'égoïsme pur

6. plain (unattractive):

plain

sans attraits

Phrases:

to be as plain as the nose on your face

se voir comme le nez au milieu de la figure

II.plain [pleɪn] ADV

1. plain (done in unadorned style):

plain

clairement

2. plain inf (downright):

plain

vraiment

III.plain [pleɪn] N

1. plain GEO:

plain

plaine f

the plains

la prairie

2. plain (knitting stitch):

plain

maille f

plain sailing N fig

to be plain sailing

être simple comme bonjour

I.plain clothes LAW N

plain clothes

vêtements mpl de civil

in plain clothes

en civil

II.plain clothes LAW ADJ (of non-uniformed police)

plain clothes

en civil

plain-spoken ADJ

to be plain-spoken

être franc

flood plain N

flood plain

plaine f inondable

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

as plain as a pikestaff Brit

clair(e) comme le jour

Translations for plain in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

plaine

plain

sans fioritures

plain (and unadorned)

sans ornements

plain

uni(e) (sans motifs)

plain

plain Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

a plain wooden table

une table en bois toute simple

plain and simple

pur(e) et simple

to make oneself plain to sb

se rendre clair à qn

it's plain selfishness

c'est de l'égoïsme pur

under plain cover

sous pli simple

as plain as a pikestaff Brit

clair(e) comme le jour

to be plain sailing

être simple comme bonjour

to go down into the plain

descendre dans la plaine rivière, route

to cast one's eyes over the plain

promener son regard sur la plaine

small pot of plain fromage frais

petit-suisse

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

Plain radiography is utilized on a limited basis and ultrasound is used in limited circumstances, in particular in the pediatric population.

en.wikipedia.org

They praised the battles as being plain fun, there being a ton of volume to the story and both the anime and CG cutscenes.

en.wikipedia.org

But do those dining habits and preferences truly expose one's personality, or is ending a relationship over a food hang-up just plain petty?

www.theglobeandmail.com

Plain and simply stated, it turned out to be the best solution for all parties involved.

en.wikipedia.org

They are made in many different shapes, with frosting, glazing, a dusting of confectioner's sugar or plain.

www.irishcentral.com

Plain plethysmographic devices like pulse oximeters are, of course, the exception, but they can not be used for blood pressure measurement.

en.wikipedia.org

But then more gardai, plain-clothes and uniformed, piled in.

www.herald.ie

Traditional home sewing techniques for finishing plain seams include trimming with pinking shears, oversewing with a zig-zag stitch, and hand or machine overcasting.

en.wikipedia.org

He is seemingly left to sleep off whatever it is ailing him - hangover, jet lag or just plain exhaustion.

traveller24.news24.com

As it rose, the corals could then grow higher on the hills of the coastal plain.

en.wikipedia.org