no-frills
5 synonyms and 4 antonyms for no-frills, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Offering only the basic service or product, with extras stripped out to keep the price low.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
stripped-down
bare-bones
Antonyms
How to use no-frills
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
no-frills airline
no-frills approach
no-frills service
no-frills package
Neutral, and often used approvingly to mean honest and unpretentious.
Etymology
From frill, a decorative ruffle on cloth, used figuratively from the nineteenth century for an unnecessary ornament or extra.
Full origin of no-frills →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between no-frills and cheap?
Cheap suggests low quality or low price generally. No-frills says nothing about the quality of the core product, only that the extras have been removed to keep the price down.
Is no-frills hyphenated?
Yes, when it comes before a noun: a no-frills hotel. Written after the verb it can appear without the hyphen, as in 'the service is no frills'.
