plainly

adv

Etymology: From Middle English playnly, pleinly, pleyneliche, equivalent to plain + -ly.

1. In a plain manner; simply; basically.

   “She decorated the room plainly but neatly.”

   “'Tell me plainly what you think of my daughter's little companion.'”

2. Obviously; clearly.

   “You will see that ours is plainly the better method.”

   “The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.”