View synonyms for bare

bare

[ bair ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

, bar·er, bar·est.

without covering or clothing; naked; nude:
bare legs.
Synonyms: undressed
without the usual furnishings, contents, etc.:
bare walls.
Synonyms: barren, empty, stark, plain
open to view; unconcealed; undisguised:
his bare dislike of neckties.
unadorned; bald; plain:
the bare facts.
(of cloth) napless or threadbare.
scarcely or just sufficient; mere:
the bare necessities of life.
Obsolete. with the head uncovered; bareheaded.

verb (used with object)

, bared, bar·ing.

to open to view; reveal or divulge:
to bare one's arms; to bare damaging new facts.
Synonyms: expose, uncover

bare

[ bair ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb

, Archaic.

simple past tense of bear ¹.

bare

/ bɛə /

verb

archaic.
a past tense of bear 1

bare

/ bɛə /

adjective

unclothed; exposed: used esp of a part of the body
without the natural, conventional, or usual covering or clothing
a bare tree
lacking appropriate furnishings, etc
a bare room
unembellished; simple
the bare facts
prenomial just sufficient; mere
he earned the bare minimum
with one's bare hands
without a weapon or tool

verb

tr to make bare; uncover; reveal

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Derived Forms

ˈbareness, noun

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Other Words From

barish adjective
bareness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English bær; cognate with Old Frisian ber, Dutch baar, Old Saxon, Old High German, German bar, Old Norse berr; akin to Armenian bok “naked,” Lithuanian bãsas, Russian bosóĭ “barefoot”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bare¹

Old English bær ; compare Old Norse berr , Old High German bar naked, Old Slavonic bosǔ barefoot

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Synonym Study

Bare, stark, barren share the sense of lack or absence of something that might be expected. Bare, the least powerful in connotation of the three, means lack of expected or usual coverings, furnishings, or embellishments: bare floor, feet, head. Stark implies extreme severity or desolation and resultant bleakness or dreariness: a stark landscape; a stark, emotionless countenance. Barren carries a strong sense of sterility and oppressive dullness: barren fields; a barren relationship. See mere ¹.

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