as in sparse
including only what is most basic or needed
a bare-bones website a bare-bones wedding ceremony The hotel rooms are bare-bones.
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Recent Examples of bare-bones
Costumes are dark and minimal (at the end, Erika wears the same black-cocktail-dress-and-pearls ensemble that Vanessa wore at the opening); the staging is bare-bones—just a couple of chairs, stark lighting, no projections, and a few minutes of dry ice during the snow scene.
—
Russell Platt, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
Today, big airlines can sell a handful of bare-bones seats at Spirit-level prices while still charging more for standard and premium tickets elsewhere on their planes.
—Rio Yamat, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Today, big airlines can sell a handful of bare-bones seats at Spirit-level prices while still charging more for standard and premium tickets elsewhere on their planes.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
That would be the bare-bones Nissan Versa, still far more expensive than the Jaecoo, once destination and other fees are added.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
Russell Platt, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
Today, big airlines can sell a handful of bare-bones seats at Spirit-level prices while still charging more for standard and premium tickets elsewhere on their planes.
—Rio Yamat, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Today, big airlines can sell a handful of bare-bones seats at Spirit-level prices while still charging more for standard and premium tickets elsewhere on their planes.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
That would be the bare-bones Nissan Versa, still far more expensive than the Jaecoo, once destination and other fees are added.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bare-bones
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare-bones
Adjective
-
And the deals extend well beyond skin care, with discounts on hair and makeup products that address everything from early signs of thinning hair and sparse brows to dull complexions in need of a natural-looking flush.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
23 June 2026
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In the stage-show memoir the movie keeps cutting to, Asher, now in his early eighties, with sparse red hair and tortoise-shell glasses, describes all of this in his mild and menschy way.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
Lee, 31, exclaimed, and the pair, mere moments after meeting, snapped a selfie as Gonzalez, 28, presented his Korean bulgogi beef quesadilla to the camera with a grin.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
In ordering Anthropic to obtain US approval for foreign nationals to use its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expanded the boundaries of laws governing transfers of sensitive technology to target the mere usage of cutting-edge AI models.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
23 June 2026
-
The tears weren't solely a result of coming up short at another major, but more so about the message his dad shared with him after Burns' Sunday surge up the leader board came up just short.—
Mark Harris OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
Adjective
-
But the slim, minimal design works perfectly with most casual outfits.—
Charley Ward,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 June 2026
-
Abraham, the front-seat passenger whose involvement in the actual crime was minimal, served a little less than two years and was released in 2001.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
22 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bare-bones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare-bones. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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