bare

I. adjective (barer; barest) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bær; akin to Old High German bar naked, Lithuanian basas barefoot Date: before 12th century 1. a. lacking a natural, usual, or appropriate covering b. (1) lacking clothing <

bare feet

> (2) obsolete bareheaded c. lacking any tool or weapon <

opened the box with his bare hands

> 2. open to view ; exposed <

laying bare their secrets

> 3. a. unfurnished or scantily supplied <

a bare room

> b. destitute <

bare of all safeguards

> 4. a. having nothing left over or added <

the bare necessities of life

> b. mere <

a bare two hours away

> c. devoid of amplification or adornment <

the bare facts

> 5. obsolete worthless • bareness noun Synonyms: bare, naked, nude, bald, barren mean deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering. bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable <

an apartment with bare walls

>. naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness <

poor half-naked children

>. nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure <

a nude model posing for art students

>. bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness <

a bald mountain peak

>. barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility <

barren plains

>. II. transitive verb (bared; baring) Date: before 12th century to make or lay bare ; uncover III. archaic past of bear