nudity

nudity — noun

1. a situation in which someone's body is not covered by any clothing, either as a

1.nounB2
Definition

a situation in which someone's body is not covered by any clothing, either as a fact or as something that is seen by other people

Example

The museum exhibition features classical sculptures that celebrate the human form, including some with nudity.

art context — nudity in classical sculpture

Tariq explained that local laws prohibit public nudity in parks and beaches within the city.

legal context — public nudity

Synonyms
  • nakedness

    more informal and emotional; often implies vulnerability or embarrassment

  • bareness

    broader meaning — can refer to lack of covering on objects, rooms, or landscapes, not only bodies

  • undress

    can refer to partial clothing or the action of removing clothes, rather than a permanent state

Usage Note

Uncountable noun — do not use in plural form ('nudities'). The term itself is neutral and descriptive, but the situations it refers to can carry social, legal, or moral weight depending on context.

Common Mistakes

The film contains many nudities.
The film contains nudity.
'nudity' is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form.
The nudity of the room surprised me.
The bareness of the room surprised me.
'nudity' refers specifically to unclothed bodies, not to things that are uncovered or empty.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all three words refer to a lack of covering, they differ in scope and tone. 'Nudity' is the most neutral and formal term, commonly used in legal, artistic, and media contexts ('public nudity', 'nudity in art'). 'Nakedness' is more emotionally charged — it often suggests vulnerability, exposure, or intimacy ('the nakedness of a newborn baby', 'she felt a cold nakedness after losing everything'). 'Bareness' has a much wider application and can describe empty rooms, treeless landscapes, or minimal decoration ('the bareness of the walls was depressing') — it is not specific to the human body. 'Undress' typically refers to partial clothing or the act of removing clothes, rather than a fixed state ('a state of undress'). For describing unclothed bodies in a neutral or official way, 'nudity' is the safest and most precise choice.

nakednessbarenessundress ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • an act of nudity
  • scenes of nudity
  • nudity in art
  • public nudity
  • partial nudity

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'nudity' comes from the Latin 'nudus', meaning 'naked' or 'bare'. It entered English through French 'nudité' in the 1500s and has been in continuous use ever since to describe the state of being without clothes on the body.