NAKED Synonyms: 129 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'naked' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of naked are bald , bare , barren , and nude . While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness. // poor half- naked children

Q: When would 'bald' be a good substitute for 'naked'?

In some situations, the words bald and naked are roughly equivalent. However, bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness. // a bald mountain peak

Q: When could 'bare' be used to replace 'naked'?

The meanings of bare and naked largely overlap; however, bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable. // an apartment with bare walls

Q: When can 'barren' be used instead of 'naked'?

While in some cases nearly identical to naked , barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility. // barren plains

Q: When might 'nude' be a better fit than 'naked'?

The words nude and naked are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure. // a nude model posing for art students

naked

adjective

ˈnā-kəd

Definition of naked next

as in nude

lacking or shed of clothing had recurrent nightmares about being naked in public

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in bare

lacking a usual or natural covering the winter trees now look so naked without their colorful fall foliage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in simple

free from all additions or embellishment a naked room waiting for an interior decorator's inspired touch

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective naked differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of naked are bald, bare, barren, and nude. While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.

poor half-naked children

When would bald be a good substitute for naked?

In some situations, the words bald and naked are roughly equivalent. However, bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.

a bald mountain peak

When could bare be used to replace naked?

The meanings of bare and naked largely overlap; however, bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.

an apartment with bare walls

When can barren be used instead of naked?

While in some cases nearly identical to naked, barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

barren plains

When might nude be a better fit than naked?

The words nude and naked are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.

a nude model posing for art students

Examples 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 naked Duchamp spent the last twenty years of his life working in secret on a three-dimensional tableau vivant of a naked, headless female body in a realistic landscape, a strangely disturbing image that is both a summary of his meta-retinal art and a total departure from it. —

Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024 Police in Oregon now believe Joshua McCoy, a 5-year-old boy whose body was found naked in the woods less than two miles from his mother’s home last month, may have been murdered. —

Sean Neumann, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024 Whitfield was acting erratic and running naked around his parents' home when officers arrived. —

Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Dec. 2024 What’s lost is the heat and swashbuckling adventure of the original tale, a humanist turn that finds Odysseus at the end of his mortal coil, Fiennes at first haggard, awash naked on the shores of Ithaca after a shipwreck has left him unmoored and divorced from his former kingdom. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for naked

Recent Examples of Synonyms for naked

Adjective

Chanel nail artist Betina R. Goldstein uses a pearlescent powder to give nude nails a shimmery iridescent shine before placing real freshwater pearls all over.

Audrey Noble, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2024
What’s more fun than being able to flip through a large-scale binder of nude black-and-white photos (courtesy Susan Singer)?

Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 19 Dec. 2024