Plain
Plain adjective - Free from all additions or embellishment.
Usage example: just give us the plain facts and none of your snide comments
Severe is a synonym for plain in unadorned topic. In some cases you can use "Severe" instead an adjective "Plain", when it comes to topics like austere, strict, stark, unembellished.
Severe
Severe adjective - Severely simple.
Plain is a synonym for severe in characteristic topic. You can use "Plain" instead an adjective "Severe", if it concerns topics such as austere.
Both words in one sentence
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Phrases like "the stark, plain, severe starkness of the unadorned walls" can hardly be taken seriously.
Source: Purple Prose - In the canon of that work is an element that has become an embarrassment or is just plain out of date, one that has been abandoned or is in severe danger of being abandoned.
Source: Reimagining the Artifact -
No Such Thing as H.R.: Moore assaults Deon in the workplace and even pulls an (unloaded) gun on him in plain view of their co-workers, he laughs it off as a joke but he should at the very least have gotten a severe reprimand from Human Resources.
Source: Film / Chappie
Cite this Source
Severe and Plain. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/plain/severe
Plain & Severe. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/plain/severe>.
Severe or Plain. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/plain/severe.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "plain" and "severe" have occurred on timeline