naked

adjective

ˈnā-kəd How to pronounce naked (audio)
Definition of nakednext
1
as in nude
lacking or shed of clothing had recurrent nightmares about being naked in public

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bare
lacking a usual or natural covering the winter trees now look so naked without their colorful fall foliage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in simple
free from all additions or embellishment a naked room waiting for an interior decorator's inspired touch

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Example 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 Of course, everyone is granted a certain level of privacy inside their house, but there are specific guidelines within Arizona's public indecency laws that could put you at fault for being naked in your own home if a person sees you. — Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Officers forcefully entered the residence to find a deceased naked woman on the bedroom floor in the back of the apartment. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Aug. 2026 In August 2025, he was charged with four felonies after allegedly attacking police officers while walking naked through the streets of Los Angeles. — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 29 Aug. 2026 Other Surrealists, meanwhile, seemed to take from animals a license to exploit other (generally female) bodies, as in Clovis Trouille’sJustine(1937), in which both a naked female figure and a lion are bound and captive. — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for naked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naked
  1. nude
  2. bare
  3. simple
  4. exposed
  5. plain
  6. uncovered
  7. bald
  8. open
Adjective
  • Many of the women appear nude, as does Stötzer, as a matter of course.
    — Elisa R. Linn, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Consider a nude or sparkly tone at the center of the lids, and perhaps a darker, richer shade along the outer orbital bone.
    — Laura Sandroni, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of nude
Adjective
  • My novel The Rayburn Affair lays bare notions of friendship, rivalry, envy, authorship, and power.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The bare lot covers about two-thirds of an acre in an area governed by the Barber Valley Specific Plan, which designates it for offices or commercial space.
    — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of bare
Adjective
  • It’s still built with comfort in mind, thanks to the flowy material and stretchy elastic waistbands of the pants and top, but has a simple cut that can be dressed up or down easily.
    — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This converts touch from a simple collision-detection mechanism into an active source of information for aerial navigation, positioning, and grasp control.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • Morgan Stanley said Equinix and Digital Realty are less exposed because their facilities average roughly 5 to 10 megawatts, far below the gigawatt-scale AI campuses planned by hyperscalers and neocloud operators.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The fact that my life is so exposed is incredibly complex for me.
    — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of exposed
Adjective
  • But his plain English introduction to what Flock Safety was actually doing is what connected with his audience.
    — Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Even the more minimal versions of this style (such as plain white or ivory with gold rims) have fallen out of favor.
    — Sheila Kim, The Spruce, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of plain
Adjective
  • But Texas is one of 10 states that chose not to expand Medicaid after the ACA became law, so many of the poorest Texans remain uncovered.
    — Olivia Aldridge, NPR, 23 Aug. 2026
  • There, too, cafés have been pressured to refuse to serve uncovered women, a young woman who recently traveled there told me.
    — Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of uncovered
Adjective
  • Because the payoff was an epic view of Lake Superior and Grand Marais from the top of a massive bald monolith.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For more than a decade, a live feed has documented events at a bald-eagle nest near Big Bear Lake, in the San Bernardino Mountains, east of Los Angeles.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of bald
Adjective
  • Not only did the limited library cards and shirts go fast, the whole rotunda reached legal capacity in just 20 minutes post-doors open time.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The investigation into Lucas had been open since the Biden administration, the New York Times previously reported.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of open

Phrases Containing naked

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naivety
naked
nakedness
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Cite this Entry

“Naked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naked. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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