naked

1. 1
   no clothesadjective

   Not wearing any clothes, with the body uncovered; also showing or involving people with no clothes on.

   The swimmers dove into the lake naked under the moonlight.

   Classical sculptors often depicted naked figures to celebrate the human form.

   UsageSaid in two syllables, NAY-kid, unlike baked. Set phrase: as naked as the day he was born.

   Similarnude, bare, unclothed, undressed

   Oppositeclothed, dressed

   Note

   Older prose pairs it with bare for emphasis, as William Wilkinson does in 1579: Christ "commeth not bare or naked." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The quoted Wilkinson work was published in 1579. en.wikisource.org
   • Wilkinson's text contains the quoted wording, pairing bare with naked. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   without toolsadjective

   Functioning without the aid of an instrument or external assistance.

   Under dark skies, the faint comet was just visible to the naked eye.

   Many bacteria are far too small to detect with the naked eye.

   UsageAlmost always in the naked eye: visible to the naked eye. Elsewhere unaided is the safer word.

   Similarunaided

   Note

   Astronomy writing uses it constantly. Asger Aaboe, writing in 2001, maps the bodies "visible to the naked eye." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Aaboe's relevant book first appeared in 2001. link.springer.com
   • Aaboe uses the quoted words while describing mapping celestial bodies onto the celestial sphere. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   uncoveredadjective

   Without its usual covering or protection; bare and exposed, such as a naked flame, a naked wire or rock bare of plants.

   Workers must never handle a naked electrical cable without insulated gloves.

   A naked flame in the laboratory posed a serious fire risk.

   UsageTypical pairs: a naked flame, a naked wire, a naked bulb.

   Similarbare, exposed, unprotected, uncovered, open

   Oppositecovered, protected, insulated

   Note

   Here things rather than people are bare, and the missing layer is the one that keeps them safe. A naked flame has nothing around it, and naked tungsten bulbs hang without shades. In molecular biology, naked mRNA is genetic material with no protective carrier, which breaks down quickly unless something wraps it. In each case the word points to the shield that is absent. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • mRNA carries genetic information. genome.gov
   • Naked mRNA lacks a protective delivery carrier. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4. 4
   plain truthadjective

   Stated plainly and without softening or decoration; blunt and undisguised.

   The report laid out the naked facts of the company's collapse.

   There was naked ambition in the way he chased the promotion.

   UsageMostly right before the noun: the naked truth, naked ambition, naked racism.

   Similarstark, bare, plain, undisguised, blatant

   Oppositedisguised, veiled

   Note

   Applied to statements and motives rather than bodies, the word strips away any softening. With truth and facts it means unadorned, as in the naked truth. With words like racism or ambition it means undisguised, with nothing hiding the thing itself. Talia Lavin wrote of "naked racism" in GQ in 2019. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Talia Lavin wrote an article published in GQ in 2019. gq.com
   • The article contains the exact phrase "naked racism" in Lavin's own prose. gq.com
5. 5
   feel exposedadjective

   Feeling exposed or vulnerable, as though deprived of something that gives comfort or protection.

   Stripped of his usual confidence, he felt utterly naked before the committee.

   Having left his phone at home, he felt oddly naked all through the long train ride.

   UsageMostly feel naked without something: I feel naked without my phone.

   Similarexposed, vulnerable, defenseless

   Oppositeprotected, secure

   Note

   A feeling, not a state of dress. The image builds on the "unprotected" meaning rather than on bare skin. What is missing is a familiar shield, and the speaker feels exposed without it.

6. 6
   no extrasadjective

   Served or made without additives, or without some component that would normally be included.

   Trying to cut carbs, he ordered a naked burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.

   She ordered her burrito naked, with the rice, beans, and salsa served in a bowl instead of a tortilla.

   Similarplain, pure, unadulterated

   Note

   Menus and packaging have turned this sense into a selling point. A naked burrito comes without its tortilla and a naked burger without its bun. Bacon sold as naked promises a cure without the usual added preservatives. The noun names the familiar product, and naked tells you which expected part has been left out. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • A naked burrito is served without its tortilla. lococayman.ky
   • A naked burger is served without its bun. burgerclub.nl
   • Bacon marketed as naked promises the omission of conventional curing additives such as nitrates and nitrites. nakedbaconco.com
7. 7
   partly dressedadjectivecolloquial

   Not fully clothed; wearing only underwear or undergarments.

   Note

   An older, looser standard of undress, in which a shirt or shift still counted as naked. James Gordon's History of Scots Affairs, written in the seventeenth century, has country people fleeing their beds "nacked in their shirts." The usage is obsolete in writing but lingers in casual speech, where someone in underwear may still call themselves naked. Keep it to conversation, and expect listeners to hear the literal sense first. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • James Gordon wrote History of Scots Affairs. en.wikisource.org
   • Under the required first-publication convention, the date is 1841. The manuscript was written in approximately 1659–1661. en.wikisource.org
   • Gordon describes people fleeing their beds in their shirts and calls them naked, supporting the older, partially clothed sense. en.wiktionary.org

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