Meaning & use
bare-ass
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounvulgarslang
Naked, with nothing covering the buttocks or the body; a rude informal word.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and is considered vulgar: a bare-ass photo.
The story describes a bare-ass streaker running across the field.
He joked about a bare-ass baby picture.
The film was criticized for a bare-ass scene.
adjectivebefore a nounvulgarslang
Plain, basic or stripped of anything extra; used in rude slang for something without frills.
Grammar: Informal and crude; usually describes a minimal product or setup.
It was a bare-ass cabin with nothing but a bed.
They sold bare-ass computers with no software.
He started the business on a bare-ass budget.
Common combinations
- bare-ass naked
- The speaker used the phrase bare-ass naked as slang.
- bare-ass minimum
- They offered the bare-ass minimum to staff.
- bare-ass basics
- The room had only the bare-ass basics.
- bare-ass room
- He rented a bare-ass room above a shop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- naked
- Naked is the neutral, polite word, whereas bare-ass is vulgar slang.
- bare-bones
- Bare-bones is clean and describes simple, basic things without the crude tone.
- stripped-down
- Stripped-down is a neutral adjective for a version with features removed.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bare-ass or bare-bones?
bare-ass vs bare-bones
Bare-bones is a polite phrase for basic or minimal, and is safe in formal writing.
Practice
Which word is a polite, neutral alternative to the vulgar word bare-ass when describing someone without clothes?
Choose one answer.
Naked is the neutral word for having no clothes. Dressed means the opposite, and the others are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bare-ass”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.