plain-vanilla

adjective

plain-va·​nil·​la ˈplān-və-ˈni-lə How to pronounce plain-vanilla (audio)
-ˈne-
Synonyms of plain-vanillanext
: lacking special features or qualities : basic

Synonyms of plain-vanilla

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of plain-vanilla in a Sentence

we decided to buy the plain-vanilla model because we don't have a lot of money to spend on extras
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Your dingy, plain-vanilla concrete drive can be transformed to a stunning art piece by installing a thin cement stucco coating. — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 2 Aug. 2025 By blending plain-vanilla money funds with blockchain rails, the firm is proving that tokenization is not just a theory but a functioning business model. — Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 That means less plant capacity to make plain-vanilla DRAM for basic electronics like phones. — Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 16 Feb. 2026 That means less plant capacity to make plain-vanilla DRAM for basic electronics like phones. — Debby Wu, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for plain-vanilla

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plain-vanilla was in 1959

Rhymes for plain-vanilla

See All Rhymes for plain-vanilla

Browse Nearby Words

plain turkey
plain-vanilla
plain wanderer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Plain-vanilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plain-vanilla. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All