Spare vs Plain - What's the Difference?

Plain

Spare

Definitions

Definition as Noun
  • extensive tract of level open land
  • a basic knitting stitch made by putting the needle through the front of the stitch from the lefthand side
Definition as Noun
  • a score in tenpins; knocking down all ten after rolling two balls
  • an extra car wheel and tire for a four-wheel vehicle
  • an extra component of a machine or other apparatus
Definition as Verb
  • express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
Definition as Verb
  • save or relieve from an experience or action
  • use frugally or carefully
  • give up what is not strictly needed
  • refrain from harming
Definition as Adjective
  • not elaborate or elaborated; simple
  • clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
  • lacking embellishment or ornamentation
  • lacking in physical beauty or proportion
  • not mixed with extraneous elements
  • lacking patterns especially in color
  • free from any effort to soften to disguise
Definition as Adjective
  • kept in reserve especially for emergency use
  • lacking in magnitude or quantity
  • more than is needed, desired, or required
  • not taken up by scheduled activities
  • lacking embellishment or ornamentation
  • thin and fit
Definition as Adverb
  • unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly')
Definition as Adverb

Examples

  • "plain food"; "stuck to the plain facts"; "a plain blue suit"; "a plain rectangular brick building"
  • "the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields"; "evident hostility"; "manifest disapproval"; "patent advantages"; "made his meaning plain"; "it is plain that he is no reactionary"; "in plain view"; "a palpable lie"
  • "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"
  • "a homely child"; "several of the buildings were downright homely"; "a plain girl with a freckled face"
  • "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"
  • "the plain and unvarnished truth"; "the unvarnished candor of old people and children"
  • "the answer is obviously wrong"; "she was in bed and evidently in great pain"; "he was manifestly too important to leave off the guest list"; "it is all patently nonsense"; "she has apparently been living here for some time"; "I thought he owned the property, but apparently not"; "You are plainly wrong"; "he is plain stubborn"
  • "they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"; "he longed for the fields of his youth"
  • "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about"
  • "a reserve supply of food"; "a spare tire"; "spare parts"
  • "a bare livelihood"; "a scanty harvest"; "a spare diet"
  • "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy"
  • "a free hour between classes"; "spare time on my hands"
  • "a plain hair style"; "unembellished white walls"; "functional architecture featuring stark unornamented concrete"
  • "the spare figure of a marathon runner"; "a body kept trim by exercise"
  • "I'll spare you from having to apologize formally"
  • "he asked if they could spare one of their horses to speed his journey"

Parts of Speech

Adjective, Adverb, Noun, Verb
Adjective, Noun, Verb

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