Definition of nakednext
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective naked differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of naked are bald, bare, barren, and nude. While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.

poor half-naked children

When would bald be a good substitute for naked?

In some situations, the words bald and naked are roughly equivalent. However, bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.

a bald mountain peak

When could bare be used to replace naked?

The meanings of bare and naked largely overlap; however, bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.

an apartment with bare walls

When can barren be used instead of naked?

While in some cases nearly identical to naked, barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

barren plains

When might nude be a better fit than naked?

The words nude and naked are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.

a nude model posing for art students

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of naked The cluster is bright enough to see with the naked eye from a reasonably dark location, though binoculars will reveal many more of its stars. — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2026 Prosecutors said the woman was found Sunday naked and malnourished on a mat in the attic of a multifamily home on Summer Street. — Oscar Margain, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026 The Thai singer stunned in a bright red lingerie naked dress that bared her underwear. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 27 Sep. 2026 Several were naked or partially clothed and left in open areas near main roads. — ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for naked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naked
Adjective
  • Makeup was kept light and fresh, topped off with a nude lip, while her hair was parted down the middle, styled in face-framing waves.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The circumstances of his departure — the years of Chinese contacts, the nude pictures at the Fed — were not made public.
    — Eamon Javers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Three women sit in front of me, each one occupying a salon chair in a tiny room with a single shampoo bowl, and one window that faces a bare, enclosed courtyard with yellowing grass.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the square into 9 vertical strips, so that each strip has a portion of the bare border.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • That single choice unleashes a harrowing chain of strange and terrifying events in the dead of night, turning a simple gesture of kindness into a real-life nightmare.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Waffles and pimento Another enduring element of Chick-fil-A is its famously simple menu.
    — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The end result would be a gassy surface shining as brightly as a more exposed black hole but with the Balmer break and smooth red hump of a 5,000-kelvin star, de Graaff and Naidu theorized.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Morgan Stanley said Equinix and Digital Realty are less exposed because their facilities average roughly 5 to 10 megawatts, far below the gigawatt-scale AI campuses planned by hyperscalers and neocloud operators.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The mat is a plastic sheet that is rather discreet and easily blends in with plain white floors.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The elegiac poems in The Man with Night Sweats are sharper, plainer, starker than Gunn’s early formal poems.
    — Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • In 2023, a federal audit flagged serious pesticide incidents in half a dozen counties and uncovered patchwork oversight by agricultural commissioners.
    — Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Moore added a pair of long passing touchdowns, one to an uncovered Dakorien Moore on a busted coverage, and another down the sideline to Stewart to complete a 28-point first quarter.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Patrick, mostly bald on top, has longer hair extensions, too, given that his character, Paul’s adviser and friend Gurney Halleck, has been in exile as well.
    — Kyle Maclachlan, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The bald guy lecturing me on how to get the money looked real enough, but the question of his true being kept rattling around my increasingly paranoid mind.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The space is also open for afternoon tea and dinner– though a reservation is recommended.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Director Park Hyeon-seok’s statements on the subject were similarly open.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Naked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naked. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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