PLAINNESS Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

plainness

noun

Definition of plainness

as in honesty

the free expression of one's true feelings and opinions his unabashed plainness in telling people exactly what he thought of them was often offensive

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in simplicity

the quality or state of having a form or structure of few parts or elements the plainness and clean lines of that coffeemaker make it a piece of modern sculpture as well as a kitchen appliance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of plainness The vestiges of his fading memory flash by with a haunting plainness, the melancholy of all this Americana and the sadness of a mind ravaged by time strike the viewer plainly at the end of this maximalist piece of life-writing. — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026 The sheer fact of filming fills a frame, even one composed with quasi-documentary plainness, with a plethora of details of narrative, expressive, aesthetic, intellectual, and historical import. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026 To understand why men might have adopted a clothing system that prioritized plainness and conformity over color and change, this book investigates the gradual crystallization of this civic uniform of masculinity. — Literary Hub, 25 June 2026 The through-line across all of it – the music, the acting, the international stages – is a pair of principles Lo articulates with plainness. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plainness

Noun

In a world that rewards keeping appearances, Space Afrika makes conveying honesty and vulnerability look easy.

— Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2026
But when customers already know something went wrong, an apology can signal warmth and honesty.

— Bilin Lin, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of honesty

Noun

Still, the sincerity matters, and so does the achievement of realizing something this strange with such conviction.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
After many fans online questioned the sincerity of Art of Play’s statement, Clarkson herself stepped back into the fray.

— Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of sincerity

Noun

Savio The Brazilian is still finding his feet but already feels like an important player, offering pace, directness and a willingness to take on his man — qualities lacking in many of his team-mates.

— Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Paul, meanwhile, was in a period of uncharacteristic autobiographical directness in his lyric-writing, documenting his grievances with his actor girlfriend Jane Asher while residing in her family’s London home.

— Darryn King, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of directness

Noun

The novel, published in 1988, foreshadowed the career to come by taking on, with disarming frankness, everything from child abuse to transracial adoption.

— Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Horgan, whose Catastrophe charted the ups and downs of a relationship with painful, hilarious honesty, applies the same frankness to the minor indignities of midlife.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of frankness

Noun

Their impressiveness came from their straightforwardness, their precision and generosity of flavor, without needless curlicues or misguided deconstruction.

— Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
What is genuinely remarkable, though, is that this meteoric machine drives with the straightforwardness of a Toyota Camry.

— Sean Evans, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of straightforwardness

Noun

Casting Bill Burr — the stand-up, who in recent years has repeatedly gone viral for speaking hard truths right to people’s face with all the bluntness of his blue-collar Boston roots — was a whole other layer of wish fulfillment for Sorkin.

— Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
Still, everyone onstage seemed amused and accustomed to Lange’s bluntness.

— Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of bluntness

Browse Nearby Words

plainly

plainness

plains

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“Plainness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plainness. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of plainness

noun

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