variants
also bare-knuckled
or bare-knuckles
as in gladiatorial
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bare-knuckle
The 2022 bare-knuckle holiday sensation Violent Night followed an embittered Santa, armed with lethal combat skills, who takes out a team of ruthless mercenaries to rescue a girl and her family.
—
Justin Kroll, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
And to go bare-knuckle with the Chargers.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2025
As Republicans moved to have state legislatures under their umbrella of control add more favorable seats to the 2026 midterm maps in Texas, Ohio and Indiana, Newsom matched the bare-knuckle approach with a new version of California's congressional maps that would eliminate five GOP-leaning seats.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
His best bare-knuckle performance came in a 2024 win over ex-Bellator champion Daniel Straus.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-knuckle
Justin Kroll, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
And to go bare-knuckle with the Chargers.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2025
As Republicans moved to have state legislatures under their umbrella of control add more favorable seats to the 2026 midterm maps in Texas, Ohio and Indiana, Newsom matched the bare-knuckle approach with a new version of California's congressional maps that would eliminate five GOP-leaning seats.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
His best bare-knuckle performance came in a 2024 win over ex-Bellator champion Daniel Straus.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bare-knuckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare-knuckle
- gladiatorial
- in-your-face
- combative
- pugnacious
- confrontational
- take-no-prisoners
- belligerent
- blood-and-guts
Adjective
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In America's gladiatorial two-party system, that could well deprive Republicans of a winning political issue with which to batter out-of-touch, climate change-besotted Democrats.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Dec. 2025
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Speaking a few days before his eagerly awaited womenswear debut for Dior, Anderson described the feeling of stepping into a gladiatorial arena.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The car was made for a client who wanted a Ford Mustang Mach 1 but with modern updates, and even more in-your-face details.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
5 Nov. 2025
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Supporting contenders often succeed with more in-your-face work (just look at last year's Best Supporting Actress winner, Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez), and Penn's transformative work here could lead to his first victory in 16 years.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Venus fuses with combative Mars in your 3rd House of Communication, mixing tenderness with intensity and pushing for words that match actions.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Jan. 2026
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During her speech, Paulson shared a bunch of text messages Keaton had sent her over the years, all of which were at once warm and acerbic, kind and a playfully combative.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Instead Linda devolves, becoming more pugnacious and thin-skinned and pissed off.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
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The lieutenant governor is campaigning as the pugnacious, liberal choice in her matchup against Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., a more centrist Democrat who has won tough House races.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Any American traveling abroad right now should prepare to have confrontational conversations, Hernandez says.—
Terry Ward,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
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This year’s furry green villain is more funny than scary, his behavior unthreatening, his confrontational manner with the Whos never feeling particularly dangerous.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Ricky Gervais has hosted the Golden Globes five times, making Hollywood sweat with his take-no-prisoners approach to jokes mocking showbiz.—
William Earl,
Variety,
30 Dec. 2025
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Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Such an approach—allowing aid to flow in a verifiably safe manner and free from interference by either belligerent party in a conflict or post-conflict situation—is urgently needed for Gaza, as well.—
Jeremy Konyndyk,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Oct. 2025
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Second, having quickly been identified by internet bloodhounds, the actual offending Polish paving magnate issued a belligerent non-apology.—
NEAL RUBIN,
Freep.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Dawn of the Dead's flood of blood-and-guts is among the most memorable in film history, if only for the unnaturally vivid shades of red.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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Still, these sections lack the blood-and-guts tension of her interactions with her mother.—
Madeline Leung Coleman,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare-knuckle. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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