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as in bare
lacking a usual or natural covering trees that are bald in the winter aren't the best for giving a home year-round privacy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective bald differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of bald are bare, barren, naked, and nude. While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.

a bald mountain peak

When can bare be used instead of bald?

Although the words bare and bald have much in common, bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.

an apartment with bare walls

Where would barren be a reasonable alternative to bald?

In some situations, the words barren and bald are roughly equivalent. However, barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

barren plains

When might naked be a better fit than bald?

The words naked and bald are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.

poor half-naked children

When could nude be used to replace bald?

The synonyms nude and bald are sometimes interchangeable, but nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.

a nude model posing for art students

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bald Standing a good half-foot taller than his peers was a man with a shiny, white, bald head: Samuele Landi. Atossa Araxia Abrahamian Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025 His most menacing appearance happens at 1:54, where he's shown looking rageful, with cuts over his signature bald head. Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025 Called Wallace & Gromit, the former is a bald British mad inventor with a love of cheese whilst the latter is an intelligent but silent dog. Caroline Reid, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025 Wahlberg first shared footage of his bald look in a July 3, 2024, Instagram post. Angel Saunders, People.com, 4 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for bald 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bald
Adjective
  • Guests are asked to dangle toys from wands rather than handle cats with their bare hands, and keep from waking any felines sleeping in their circular nooks.
    Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Her navy silk wool double-breasted coat was nipped at the waist and worn with bare legs and stiletto heels.
    Leah Dolan, CNN, 20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Organize your ideas with the timeless power of the triad—three points are simple, memorable, and impactful.
    Martin Gutmann, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
  • The concept of the Brigade was simple: the members of our community needed to be better prepared for the future.
    Emma Marie Jenkinson, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Johnson has emerged as the team’s primary back on third downs and obvious passing downs, catching 18 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns and carrying the ball 41 times for 213 yards and one score.
    Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Trusted by Kyiv and maintaining a relatively cordial relationship with Moscow, Turkey would seem like an obvious choice.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Zuckerberg has just recently emerged from his own masculinist makeover, which turned him from a pale coder to a buff and bronzed bro, and his openly suggestive glance at Sanchez’s exposed chest seemed like an appropriate capstone to Trump’s Inaugural Address.
    Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Other common denominators: stucco roofs and no exposed wood.
    Josh Peter, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Now closer to Earth than at any time since late 2022 and until early 2027, the red planet—visible below Jupiter—looks a golden-reddish color to the naked eye.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
  • All month, four planets — Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars — will appear to line up and be bright enough to see with the naked eye in the first few hours after dark, according to NASA.
    Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • An older technique that is once again covering masks across the NHL this season is painting on top of chrome to give the mask an unmistakable shine.
    Jesse Granger, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
  • The low-key pair stepped out in casual duds to grab lunch, with the Twilight star sporting a messy topknot in an unmistakable platinum shade.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • While most warming devices come only in plain blacks and grays, these go out of their way to look pleasant in four colorful designs.
    Clint Davis, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The fabrics feature traditional patterns and plain colors, some even have monkey designs.
    Terry Elward, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • And the cracks in the Russian economy are becoming increasingly apparent.
    Alexandra Prokopenko, Foreign Affairs, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Weakness in the job market is a wildcard that could also trigger lower interest rates, but for now, that is not apparent in reported data.
    Simon Moore, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near bald

Cite this Entry

“Bald.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bald. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

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