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, 28 Aug. 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, 28 Aug. 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
-
Under his rule, the teens are pitted against each other (and other supes) in gladiatorial-style combat.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Year: 1986 Runtime: 1h 28m Famously shot in two weeks on a nonexistent budget, Lee’s first film is completely all over the place, part in-your-face polemic, part Woody Allen–esque social comedy.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
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Chatman’s in-your-face intensity and booming baritone masks a soft spot for his players.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The tone is snarky, combative, and unmistakably modeled on the president's online persona.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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More inclusive and less combative.—
Carol RH Malasig,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Godfather director steals the show here as an energetic, pugnacious and visionary circus ringleader who put his money where his mouth was for a project that wound up flopping critically and commercially.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
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Some Democrats may thrill each time Newsom delivers one of his pugnacious pronouncements.—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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The arrest took place after the reality star apparently spent the days prior sharing a series of increasingly confrontational posts to her Instagram, which allegedly doxxed her friends and family members.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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This is the polar opposite of, say, a project designed to be controversial, confrontational and put TIFF on the defensive.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The fact that any remaining mutual admiration is fueled by mutual animosity is thus introduced right up front, and the movie wastes zero time setting out the rules of engagement for what will soon become take-no-prisoners warfare between the Roses.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
27 Aug. 2025
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The third-favorite in New York, Strategic Focus, stands at 10-1 in Britain, which is to say, the take-no-prisoners London bookies think that the 6-1 New York odds are not high enough to reflect his chance of losing to Sovereignty by a measure of nearly fifty percent.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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This Mary is horny, drunk, and completely belligerent about her dream of being a cabaret star.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
2 Sep. 2025
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Both Iran and Israel emerged from June's 12-day war claiming victory, but their rhetoric since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire has grown increasingly belligerent.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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That realization elevates the film’s campy blood-and-guts from gore to gut-punch.—
Gráinne O'Hara Belluomo,
WWD,
1 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare-knuckle. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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