bare 1 of 2

Definition of barenext
1
2
3
4
5
6

bare

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective bare differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of bare are bald, barren, naked, and nude. While all these words 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

When might bald be a better fit than bare?

The synonyms bald and bare are sometimes interchangeable, but bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.

a bald mountain peak

When is it sensible to use barren instead of bare?

The words barren and bare can be used in similar contexts, but barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

barren plains

In what contexts can naked take the place of bare?

While in some cases nearly identical to bare, naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.

poor half-naked children

Where would nude be a reasonable alternative to bare?

While the synonyms nude and bare are close in meaning, 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 bare
Adjective
The mattress on the bed was a little short and my bare feet hung off the edge, beyond the light white sheet. Literary Hub, 29 May 2026 The inspector saw several cockroaches and an employee was touching ready-to-eat food with his bare hands. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026
Verb
Alcaraz’s smile is wide and unrestrained, baring his teeth and his full lips—features he’s grown into since breaking into tennis as a teenager. José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026 So away from the stage, gun in hand, flesh bared before her for inking, what does this darkwave diva click play on? Matt Thompson, SPIN, 12 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for bare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare
Adjective
  • When Krick and Stagg enter the command boardroom to present their opposing cases mere hours before a decision must be made, the film slips into a type of courtroom drama of stormy exchanges from the benches, with both Stagg and Krick pulling out all the stops to get their forecasts approved.
    Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 29 May 2026
  • The mere presence of Hezbollah fighters in the dock shattered the group’s long-standing aura of impunity in Lebanon.
    Euan Ward, New Yorker, 29 May 2026
Adjective
  • The actor, 39, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of simple battery in a Louisiana criminal court Wednesday, June 3, according to records obtained by USA TODAY.
    Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 3 June 2026
  • At the time, the New Orleans Police Department confirmed its officers charged LaBeouf with two counts of simple battery for allegedly assaulting two men near a bar in the French Quarter.
    Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Adjective
  • The outer layers of the star will eventually cool and disperse, leaving a nebula of ex-stellar material surrounding the sun's core, which will then become an exposed cooling stellar remnant called a white dwarf.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The objective is to reduce exposed equity within the entity in a lawful and structured manner.
    Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Putting Rue’s apolitical faith in nationalist terms for the show’s closing image reads like one last thumbing of the nose that butts up against the season’s occasional naked sincerity.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 1 June 2026
  • Soon, the outline of the Milky Way could be seen by the naked eye.
    Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
Adjective
  • The dirt road leading to Bust’n B Ranch in Pioneertown, is long, narrow, and isolated, devoid of streetlights and rarely another car in sight.
    Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 28 May 2026
  • These blunders were a tragicomedy—a circus act entirely devoid of peanuts or joy.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
Verb
  • In May, reports revealed plans for an ICE facility on unincorporated land in southern Santa Clara County.
    Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 31 May 2026
  • He was taken to the emergency room at a local hospital, where tests revealed a golf ball-sized tumor in his brain.
    Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 30 May 2026
Adjective
  • In today’s fascination with affordable, tiny houses, the legacy of traditional American architecture is in plain sight.
    Time, Time, 2 June 2026
  • This one, though, is as plain as the sunshine on a warm Texas day.
    Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
Adjective
  • The riskiest habit is preheating an empty nonstick pan on high heat.
    Ryan Brennan June 2, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026
  • The dog paces to and fro, hackles bristling, snapping at the empty air, its head turning one way, then the other, as if aware of invisible foes in the valley around them.
    Maggie O’Farrell, Literary Hub, 2 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on bare

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster