bare-knuckle

adjective

variants also bare-knuckled or bare-knuckles
Definition of bare-knucklenext
as in gladiatorial

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare-knuckle
  1. in-your-face
  2. combative
  3. pugnacious
  4. take-no-prisoners
  5. belligerent
  6. blood-and-guts
  7. militant
  8. bellicose
Adjective
  • There’s tons of in-your-face werewolf action, big guns and lots of blood and guts in this throwback flick that would feel right at home in a drive-in double feature.
    William Earl, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
  • India, a team whose 12-year-old unbeaten home record has just been dismantled by New Zealand, taunted them with superior skills and in-your-face backchat.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of in-your-face
Adjective
  • The combative environment engendered a grim sort of gallows humor.
    Jason Parham, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2024
  • Orlando’s power provider plans to vote Tuesday on revamping its billing structure, changing incentives for when and how customers consume power, which has fueled a combative controversy over what’s best for local solar energy and electricity users.
    Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of combative
Adjective
  • The Panther organization was smaller and more pugnacious than the A.A.R.P.—a Chihuahua to the A.A.R.P.’s St. Bernard—but shared the larger group’s fixation on highly active seniors.
    Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
  • The pugnacious Costello annoyed the judge — at times in view of the jury — by continuing to speak after objections and rolling his eyes.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024
Definition of pugnacious
Adjective
  • The Lions are the most complete team in the league, a byproduct of their fearless coach’s take-no-prisoners mantra.
    Zak Keefer, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
  • If there is any justice, and the election results could factor into this, Sebastian Stan, perfection as the younger Trump, and a terrific Jeremy Strong as his take-no-prisoners lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn both deserve Oscar consideration.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 20 Sep. 2024
Definition of take-no-prisoners
Adjective
  • That will be especially important because China in recent years has strengthened ties with a belligerent Algiers.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • That’s an unnerving reality for the United States military, which has nearly 30,000 troops and its largest overseas base in South Korea, serving as a check against a belligerent North Korea and counterweight to an aggressive China in a strategically critical region.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of belligerent
Adjective
  • That realization elevates the film’s campy blood-and-guts from gore to gut-punch.
    Gráinne O'Hara Belluomo, WWD, 1 Dec. 2024
  • The striking contrast with everything heard earlier — not just the music but the blood-and-guts oratory — was bewildering, and in the midst of the temporary bewilderment, Melania emerged in her trim, bright-red skirt suit.
    Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 19 July 2024
Definition of blood-and-guts
Adjective
  • In September 2015, Russia intervened on the side of Assad, and with support from Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah loyalists, succeeded in recapturing most non-Kurdish areas of Syria, with rebels pinned into a small enclave around Idlib in the northwest of the country.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
  • But Western hopes of a more moderate Syria sank when the new leader promptly maintained his country’s traditional ties with militant groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
Definition of militant
Adjective
  • But the implosion of Assad’s regime could potentially weaken Putin’s hand in negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine, particularly if Putin’s bellicose threats in recent weeks of nuclear escalation are perceived as hollow.
    Nathan Hodge, CNN, 9 Dec. 2024
  • And North Korea’s increasingly bellicose attitude toward its neighbors has roiled China’s diplomatic and economic relations with South Korea and Japan.
    Stephen Hadley, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of bellicose
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near bare-knuckle

barefaced

bare-knuckle

barely

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare-knuckle. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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