| Traductions supplémentaires |
WordReference English-French Dictionary © 2026:
| plain adj | (unmixed) (non mélangé) | pur adj |
| | | nature adj |
| | A plain apple pie is one with nothing but apples in it. |
| | Une tarte pure pomme n'a rien d'autre que des pommes. |
| | Une tarte aux pommes nature n'a rien d'autre que des pommes. |
| plain adj | (unattractive) (sans attraits) | banal, quelconque adj |
| | She has a plain face, she's no beauty. |
| | Elle a un visage banal (or: quelconque), sans charme. |
| plain adj | (unseasoned) (sans assaisonnement) | nature adj |
| | I like my food plain--no salt, pepper or spices. |
| | J'aime la nourriture nature : je ne prends ni sel, ni poivre, ni épices. |
| plain adv | US (unaffected) | franchement adv |
| | He spoke plain, as he was a simple, honest man. |
| | Il parlait franchement, en homme droit et honnête. |
| plain adv | informal (clearly) | complètement adv |
| | | tout bonnement, tout simplement adv |
| | It's just plain silly to try to settle a problem by fighting. |
| | Il est complètement idiot d'essayer de résoudre un problème par la violence. |
| | Il est tout bonnement (or: tout simplement) idiot d'essayer de résoudre un problème par la violence. |
| plain n | (flat land) | plaine nf |
| | The grassy plain stretched for miles in all directions. |
| | La plaine herbeuse s'étendait de tous côtés à l'infini. |
| Formes composées |
WordReference English-French Dictionary © 2026:
all-purpose flour (US),
plain flour (UK) n | (wheat flour) | farine tout usage, farine ménagère, farine de ménage nf |
| | All-purpose flour is great for cookies, but doesn't have enough gluten for bread. |
| | La farine tout usage est parfaite pour les biscuits mais n'a pas assez de gluten pour du pain. |
| alluvial plain n | (geology: flat sediment) | plaine alluviale nf |
| as plain as a pikestaff expr | UK, informal (very obvious) | se voir comme le nez au milieu de la figure loc v |
| | | évident adj |
| as plain as a pikestaff expr | UK, informal (not attractive) (sans attraits) | banal, quelconque adj |
| coastal plain n | (geology) | plaine côtière nf |
floodplain,
flood plain n | (area near river prone to flooding) | plaine inondable nf |
| | (technique) | lit majeur nm |
| | (Construction) | zone inondable nf |
| | An aerial view shows the river meandering through the floodplain. |
| in plain clothes expr | (not wearing a uniform) | en civil loc adj |
| | The policemen were in plain clothes so the criminals didn't recognise them. |
| | Les policiers étaient en civil si bien que les bandits ne les ont pas reconnus. |
| in plain English adv | (in clear and simple language) | en langage clair, en termes simples loc adv |
| | | clairement et simplement loc adv |
| | I wish politicians would talk in plain English! |
| | J'aimerais que les politiciens parlent en termes simples. |
| in plain terms expr | (in clear and simple language) | avec des mots simples adv |
| | The man spoke in plain terms so the commoners could understand. |
| | L'homme s'est exprimé avec des mots simples pour être compris de tous. |
| in plain view expr | (overtly, in the open) | visible de tous adj |
| | The deer stood in plain view in the field in front of us. |
| | | sous les regards loc adv |
| | | en évidence loc adv |
| | | sous les yeux loc adv |
| | Le cerf était sous nos yeux au milieu du champ |
| | | au vu et au su loc adv |
| | Le cerf était au milieu du champ, au vu et au su de tout le monde. |
| in plain words expr | (expressed simply) | en termes simples loc adv |
| | You need to write the instructions in plain words so people can understand them. |
| | The new Prime Minister expressed his political views in plain words. |
| make [sth] plain v expr | (with object: make obvious) | clarifier⇒ vtr |
| make it plain that v expr | (with clause: make obvious) | dire clairement que loc v |
plain as day,
as plain as day adj | informal (obvious) | bien visible loc adj |
| | | se voir comme le nez au milieu de la figure loc v |
| | (explication) | clair comme de l'eau de roche loc adj |
| | | évident adj |
| | After that fall, the bumps on his head were plain as day. |
| | Après sa chute, les bosses sur sa tête étaient bien visibles. |
| plain bearing | (machinery) (Mécanique) | palier lisse nm |
| plain chocolate n | (dark eating chocolate) | chocolat noir nf |
| | Plain chocolate is supposed to be better for you than milk chocolate. |
| | Le chocolat noir est censé être meilleur pour la santé que le chocolat au lait. |
| plain chocolate n | (cooking chocolate) | chocolat pâtissier, chocolat à dessert, chocolat de cuisine, chocolat à cuire, chocolat de ménage nm |
| | It's best to use plain chocolate when you're making chocolate mousse. |
| | Pour faire de la mousse au chocolat, il est préférable d'utiliser du chocolat pâtissier. |
plain dealing,
plain-dealing adj | (open, straightforward) | honnête adj |
| Note: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun |
| | A plain-dealing merchant is good to find. |
| | Il est agréable de trouver un commerçant honnête. |
| plain fare n | (simple meals) (soutenu) | mets simple nm |
| | | repas facile nm |
| plain flour n | (ground wheat with no raising agent) | farine nf |
| plain folks npl | US (ordinary people) | gens ordinaires nmpl |
plain folks appeal,
plain folks propaganda n | US (use of ordinary people to persuade) | se faire passer pour un homme du peuple loc v |
| | The advert features actors portraying an ordinary family, as the company is aiming for plain folks appeal. |
| plain folks n as adj | US (argument, etc.: using populism) | populiste adj |
| a plain Jane n | informal (girl: unattractive) | Madame tout le monde nf |
| | | quelconque adj |
| | | fille quelconque nf |
| | We were all surprised when Ana said she had landed a contract as a model, as she was always such a plain Jane. |
| | Nous avons tous été surpris quand Ana a décroché un contrat de mannequin parce qu'elle a toujours été très quelconque. |
| plain paper n | (paper without lines) | papier ordinaire nm |
| plain sailing n | (on waters without obstruction) | navigation en eaux calmes nf |
| | | navigation sur mer calme nf |
plain sailing (UK),
plane sailing (UK),
clear sailing (US) n | figurative (easy course) (familier) | de la tarte, du gâteau expr |
| | This isn't a hard circuit; once the drivers are past the second corner, it's plain sailing. |
| plain speaking n | (expressing oneself directly) | franc-parler nm |
| | President Harry Truman was known for his down-to-earth mannerisms and plain speaking. |
| | Le Président Harry Truman était connu pour ses manières terre-à-terre et son franc-parler. |
plain speaking,
plain-speaking adj | (who says things directly) | franc, franche adj |
| Note: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun |
| | She is plain speaking to the point of rudeness. |
| | Elle est franche au point d'être malpolie. |
| plain style n | (clear, simple use of language) | langage simple nm |
plain text,
plaintext,
clear text n | (computing: uncoded text) (Informatique) | texte brut, texte simple nm |
| | Use the button on the right to switch between plain text and the WYSIWYG editor. |
| | Utilisez le bouton de droite pour passer du texte brut à l'éditeur WYSIWYG. |
| | (cryptographie) | texte en clair nm |
| plain weave n | (textiles) (Textiles) | toile, armure toile, armure unie nf |
| plain words npl | (clear, simple language) | mots simples nmpl |
| | Ce n'est pas son genre de faire de grands discours, il m'a tout expliqué avec des mots simples. |
| plain-clothes officer n | (police officer not in uniform) | policier en civil, policière en civil nm, nf |
| | The teens were arrested by a plain-clothes officer. |
| plain-looking adj | (unattractive) | banal, ordinaire adj |
plainclothes,
plain-clothes adj | (police officer: not uniformed) | en civil adj |
| | Le commissaire avait déployé des hommes en civil autour du bar. |
| plain clothes n | (police officer: civilian clothing) | policier en civil, policière en civil nm, nf |
plainspoken,
plain-spoken adj | (frank, direct) | franc, direct, spontané adj |