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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Bare: Definition, Usage & Common Mistakes (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：without covering (bare)

bare 🔊

/beər/

adj.

When land, a hill, or a tree has no grass, plants, or leaves on it.

Bare land illustration: dry, cracked earth with no grass under a blue sky.

without covering 🔊

➕

/wɪˈðaʊt ˈkʌvərɪŋ/

adj.

Describes a surface, especially land, that lacks its natural or usual covering, such as grass, plants, or leaves.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'bær', meaning 'naked, uncovered, plain, simple'. Related to Dutch 'baar' and German 'bar'.

💡 Mnemonic

A BEAR with no fur is BARE! Imagine a shivering bear, its skin uncovered.

📖 Example

After the fire, the hillside was completely bare, with only black soil visible. 🔊 After the fire, the hillside was completely without covering, with only black soil visible.

🔗 Collocations

bare earth – soil without any plants growing on it

bare branches – tree branches without leaves

lay bare – to expose or reveal something hidden

🔄 Synonyms

barren (adj.) – too poor to produce much or any vegetation

desolate (adj.) – empty of people and lacking comfort; bleak

bald (adj.) – lacking a natural or usual covering, especially of vegetation

🚫 Antonyms

lush (adj.) – growing thickly and strongly; covered with healthy grass and plants

verdant (adj.) – green with grass or other rich vegetation

overgrown (adj.) – covered with plants that have been allowed to grow wild

🌱 Derivatives

barely (adv.) – only just; almost not

bareness (n.) – the state of being bare

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from the Proto-Germanic '*bazaz', meaning 'naked'. Its fundamental sense of lacking cover or adornment has remained remarkably stable in English since Anglo-Saxon times. The phrase 'bare facts' is a common legal and journalistic expression.

Meaning 2：unclothed, uncovered (bare)

bare 🔊

/beər/

adj.

When a part of your body is not covered by clothes or shoes.

Bare feet example: close-up of uncovered feet on sunlit wooden floorboards.

unclothed, uncovered 🔊

➕

/ʌnˈkloʊðd, ʌnˈkʌvərd/

adj.

Describes a part of a person's body that is not covered by any clothing, shoes, or other items.

📁 Category：Fashion Trends 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

He took off his shoes and walked on the beach with bare feet. 🔊 He took off his shoes and walked on the beach with unclothed, uncovered feet.

🔗 Collocations

bare hands – without using any tools or protective gloves

bare shoulders – shoulders not covered by clothing

bare necessities – the simplest and most essential items needed

🔄 Synonyms

naked (adj.) – wearing no clothes; unclothed

uncovered (adj.) – not covered by anything

exposed (adj.) – not covered or hidden; visible

🚫 Antonyms

covered (adj.) – having something laid or extending over a surface

clothed (adj.) – wearing clothes; dressed

shod (adj.) – wearing shoes