Synonyms of plainness

plainness

noun

1

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

• honesty
• sincerity
• directness
• frankness
• straightforwardness
• bluntness
• forthrightness
• candor
• outspokenness
• simplicity
• candidness
• openness
• unreserve
• plumpness
• earnestness
• openheartedness
• unguardedness
• unreservedness
• naïveté
• plainspokenness
• artlessness
• sobriety
• freedom
• unsophistication
• genuineness
• communicativeness
• unrestraint
• license
• unrestrainedness
• uninhibitedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dissimulation
• indirection
• dissembling
• secretiveness
• restraint
• evasiveness
• reticence
• inhibition
• shyness
• reserve
• tact
• diplomacy
• circuitousness

2

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• simplicity
• uniformity
• unity
• unsophistication
• homogeneity
• homogeneousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• complexity
• sophistication
• elaborateness
• intricacy
• complication
• complicatedness
• complexness
• complicacy
• intricateness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of plainness

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

Matthew Arnold, in the 19th century, famously said the qualities of Homer are the plainness, the rapidity, and the nobility. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 23 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