Meaning & use
nudes
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“nudes” is a form of “nude”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Photographs or pictures of a naked person, usually taken for art, fashion, or private use.
Grammar: Always plural in this sense; use a plural verb: 'The nudes are on display.' For one image, say 'a nude' or 'a nude photo.'
Patterns
- nudes of someone
- take nudes
- send nudes
- leak nudes
The gallery is showing a series of nudes by a young photographer.
She sent him nudes after they had been dating for a few months.
The magazine published nudes of the actress without her permission.
noununcountableformal
The state of being naked, especially in art or life drawing.
Grammar: Used mostly in the phrase 'in the nude'; do not add 'the' before it in other structures.
Patterns
- in the nude
The model posed in the nude for the art class.
He sleeps in the nude during the summer.
Common combinations
- take nudes
- He took nudes of his girlfriend with her full consent.
- send nudes
- She asked him not to send nudes because she was at work.
- leak nudes
- Someone hacked her phone and leaked nudes online.
- post nudes
- The model posts artistic nudes on her private account.
- nudes of someone
- The police found nudes of several women on his laptop.
- in the nude
- The actor appeared in the nude in one scene.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nude photos
- A more neutral and polite way to say the same thing; use this in formal writing or when you want to avoid sounding blunt.
- naked pictures
- Similar meaning but slightly more direct and less artistic in tone; often used for private or unauthorized images.
- explicit images
- A formal or legal term that can include sexual content, not just nudity; use when the context is official or news-related.
Word family
Commonly confused: nudes or naked? nudes or nude?
nudes vs naked
This is an adjective, not a noun. Say 'naked photos' or 'nudes', but not 'naked' alone to mean photos.
nudes vs nude
As a noun, 'a nude' means one picture or one naked figure in art, while 'nudes' is plural and means several such pictures.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nudes' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Nudes' is a plural noun, so it goes with plural verbs and no article 'a'. Option B is correct because 'several nudes' is plural and the verb 'displayed' fits. Option An is wrong because 'a nudes' mixes a singular article with a plural noun; you would say 'a nude'. Option C uses 'nudes' as an adjective, but the adjective is 'nude'. Option D has the same article problem as A.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nudes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.