| 1. adin an obvious manner; clearly; unmistakably; plainly. obviously unmistakably; 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; (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly' as in he is plain stubborn) [syn: evidently, manifestly, patently, apparently, plainly, plain] |