naked

naked — adjective

1. having no clothes on your body so that your skin is completely visible and uncov

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

having no clothes on your body so that your skin is completely visible and uncovered by any clothing

Example

Baby Salma laughed as she ran naked through the sprinkler in the backyard.

predicative use: ran naked

The security camera caught a naked man climbing out of the hotel window at dawn.

Common collocations
  • stark naked
  • half naked
  • completely naked
  • strip naked
Synonyms
  • nude

    more formal and artistic; preferred in art, photography, and clinical contexts

  • bare

    used for body parts rather than the whole body (bare feet, bare chest); less likely to be considered inappropriate

  • unclothed

    formal or clinical register; sounds less emotional than 'naked'

Antonyms
  • clothed

    wearing clothes; opposite in all contexts

  • dressed

    everyday opposite for a person wearing clothes

Grammar Patterns

be + naked

naked + noun

Usage Note

In many social contexts, 'naked' can sound too direct or sexual. 'Nude' is preferred when talking about art, photography, or formal body descriptions. 'Bare' is used for body parts (bare arms) rather than the whole body.

Common Mistakes

She wore a naked swimsuit to the beach.
She wore a revealing swimsuit to the beach.' or 'She went to the beach naked.
'naked' describes a person with no clothes, not a piece of clothing.
The museum has a collection of naked Greek statues.
The museum has a collection of nude Greek statues.
'nude' is the preferred term for art and sculpture.

2. with its normal outer layer or surface missing, so that the inside or basic mate

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

with its normal outer layer or surface missing, so that the inside or basic material is visible and uncovered

Example

After the fire, only a few naked branches remained on the blackened oak tree.

collocation: naked branches

The garden wall was naked except for the cracked grey paint that was peeling off.

be + naked + except for

Common collocations
  • naked branches
  • naked flame
  • naked light bulb
  • naked wires
  • naked stone
Synonyms
  • bare

    more common for describing rooms, surfaces, and landscapes; less dramatic than 'naked'

  • uncovered

    neutral term focusing on the absence of a cover rather than exposed material

  • exposed

    suggests something is usually covered but is now visible; often implies risk or vulnerability

Antonyms
  • covered

    having its usual outer layer intact

  • wrapped

    enclosed in a covering material

Grammar Patterns

naked + noun

be + naked

Usage Note

Commonly describes trees, walls, light bulbs, wires, and other objects whose usual covering (leaves, paint, shade, insulation) is absent. For rooms, buildings, and landscapes, 'bare' is often more natural than 'naked'.

Common Mistakes

The classroom had naked walls with no decorations.
The classroom had bare walls with no decorations.
'bare' is more natural than 'naked' for describing rooms and surfaces.

3. a feeling, quality, or fact that is shown or stated in a very direct way, withou

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

a feeling, quality, or fact that is shown or stated in a very direct way, without any attempt to hide it or make it seem less extreme

Example

The journalist exposed the naked truth about how the pharmaceutical company hid the test results.

collocation: the naked truth

Layla stared at her ex-husband with naked hatred as he walked past her table.

Common collocations
  • naked truth
  • naked ambition
  • naked hatred
  • naked greed
  • naked fear
  • naked attempt
Synonyms
  • undisguised

    formal register; implies the emotion is not hidden despite attempts to conceal it

  • blatant

    stronger and more negative connotation; suggests shamelessness

  • unconcealed

    neutral register; describes something that is simply not hidden, with less emotional force

Antonyms
  • hidden

    kept secret or out of sight

  • concealed

    deliberately kept from being seen or known

  • disguised

    made to look like something else to hide the truth

Grammar Patterns

naked + noun (abstract)

Usage Note

This sense is restricted to a small set of abstract nouns: truth, ambition, hatred, greed, fear, and attempt. It is not freely combinable with other emotions or qualities. Using it outside these fixed collocations sounds unnatural.

Common Mistakes

Maria gave a naked opinion about the film.
Maria gave an honest opinion about the film.' or 'Maria spoke the naked truth about the film.
'naked' before abstract nouns follows fixed patterns; 'honest' is the natural choice for opinions.
The report contained naked criticism of the government.
The report contained harsh/unrestrained criticism of the government.
'naked' does not combine freely with 'criticism'; use 'scathing' or 'unrestrained' instead.

4. completely lacking any protection from physical harm, attack, danger, or negativ

4.adjectiveB2
Definition

completely lacking any protection from physical harm, attack, danger, or negative criticism by others

Example

Without a helmet or knee pads, a cyclist is naked against the road's dangers.

naked + against + danger

When the soldiers retreated, the small farming village was left naked to the enemy army.

left + naked + to + threat

Common collocations
  • naked to attack
  • naked to the elements
  • naked against danger
  • left naked
  • feel naked
Synonyms
  • vulnerable

    more common in everyday use; softer than 'naked' and less dramatic

  • defenseless

    emphasises the inability to fight back or protect oneself

  • unprotected

    neutral and straightforward; the most general alternative

  • exposed

    suggests being left open to harm after a protective layer or barrier is removed

Antonyms
  • protected

    kept safe from harm or danger

  • defended

    actively guarded against attack

  • shielded

    blocked from harm by a protective barrier

Grammar Patterns

be + naked + to + threat

be + naked + against + danger

leave + noun + naked

Usage Note

Often followed by the preposition 'to' (indicating the source of danger) or 'against' (indicating the danger itself). This sense overlaps with sense 2 ('WITHOUT NATURAL COVER') in some physical contexts (e.g. 'naked to the elements'), but differs in focusing on vulnerability and risk rather than missing covering.

Common Mistakes

The hikers felt naked when they lost the map.
The hikers felt lost/exposed when they lost the map.
'naked' in this sense means defenseless against a specific threat, not simply lost or confused.
The country was naked to the invasion.
The country was vulnerable/open to the invasion.' or 'The country was left naked to the invading forces.
'naked to' is a fixed, slightly literary pattern; in everyday speech, 'vulnerable to' is more natural.
Idioms

the naked eye

idiom

The ability to see things without using any tools like telescopes or microscopes.

Mars is sometimes visible to the naked eye from Earth.

Can you see the tiny letters with the naked eye?

Word family

  • nakedness
    nounB2
  • nakedly
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Naked' is the most common and direct word for having no clothes on. It is neutral in tone but can sound sexual or vulnerable depending on context. 'Nude' is more formal and is the standard term in art, photography, and clinical settings — you would describe a statue as 'nude', not 'naked'. 'Bare' usually describes body parts rather than the whole body (bare feet, bare chest) and also applies to surfaces (bare walls), so it has a broader range than 'naked' or 'nude'. 'Exposed' focuses on the situation of being uncovered when protection is expected, often implying risk or embarrassment. Example: 'The model posed nude for the art class' (correct register for art). 'He walked barefoot on the cold floor' (body-part specific). 'The wires were left exposed after the renovation' (implies danger).

naked ↗nude ↗bare ↗exposed

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • strip naked

Prepositions

Etymology

Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

'Naked' comes from Old English 'nacod', meaning 'bare, empty, without clothing'. It traces back to Proto-Germanic '*nakwadaz' and further to the Indo-European root '*negw-', which means 'bare' or 'naked'. This same ancient root produced Latin 'nudus' (source of 'nude') and Greek 'gymnos' (source of 'gymnasium', where athletes originally trained naked). The word has kept its basic meaning for over a thousand years, though its figurative uses (sense 3 and 4) developed later in Middle English.