Main Entry: ¹bare

Pronunciation: \ˈber\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): bar·er; bar·est

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bær; akin to Old High German bar naked, Lithuanian basas barefoot

Date: before 12th century

1 a : lacking a natural, usual, or appropriate covering b (1) : lacking clothing <bare feet> (2) obsolete : bareheaded c : lacking any tool or weapon <opened the box with his bare hands>
2 : open to view : exposed <laying bare their secrets>
3 a : unfurnished or scantily supplied <a bare room> b : destitute <bare of all safeguards>
4 a : having nothing left over or added <the bare necessities of life> b : mere <a bare two hours away> c : devoid of amplification or adornment <the bare facts>
5 obsolete : worthless

— bare·ness noun

synonyms bare, naked, nude, bald, barren mean deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering. bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable <an apartment with bare walls>. naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness <poor half-naked children>. nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure <a nude model posing for art students>. bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness <a bald mountain peak>. barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility <barren plains>.