variants
also bare-knuckled
or bare-knuckles
as in gladiatorial
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare-knuckle
Adjective
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The women try sketchy cash-advance loans and then giving blood, which turns into a messy set piece, executed with as much in-your-face fluid as gross-out classics like There’s Something About Mary or Monty Python’s Mr. Creosote sketch.—
Fred Topel,
Deadline,
17 Jan. 2025 -
Berg’s series pushes the limits of violence and cruelty, but his rugged, in-your-face style succeeds in keeping you on edge and spares no one.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Shortly after the beatdown, video footage leaked online showing the combative artist lying on the ground while being jabbed and stomped.—
Marc Griffin,
VIBE.com,
17 Jan. 2025
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Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine or malign institutions meant to constrain any president, and a combative style that strives to stretch executive power as far as possible.—
Victor Menaldo,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Even in the courtroom drama, Basso showed his gusto for physical realism by incorporating signs of fighting damage for his pugnacious but legally innocent character.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
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Detroit has been pugnacious, shouldering a bevy of recent critical injuries to its defense.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The Lions are the most complete team in the league, a byproduct of their fearless coach’s take-no-prisoners mantra.—
Zak Keefer,
The Athletic,
25 Nov. 2024
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If there is any justice, and the election results could factor into this, Sebastian Stan, perfection as the younger Trump, and a terrific Jeremy Strong as his take-no-prisoners lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn both deserve Oscar consideration.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
20 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has taken a more belligerent stand in world politics during the Biden administration, abandoning its Trump-era defensive posture in favor of active cooperation with its few allies.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
13 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement In a belligerent California landscape only provisionally tamed by human hands, fire is an inevitability.—
Julia Wick,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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That realization elevates the film’s campy blood-and-guts from gore to gut-punch.—
Gráinne O'Hara Belluomo,
WWD,
1 Dec. 2024
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The striking contrast with everything heard earlier — not just the music but the blood-and-guts oratory — was bewildering, and in the midst of the temporary bewilderment, Melania emerged in her trim, bright-red skirt suit.—
Philip Kennicott,
Washington Post,
19 July 2024
Adjective
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Three Israeli hostages were released to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday following a ceasefire deal between Israel and the militant group Hamas.—
Rachel Scully,
The Hill,
19 Jan. 2025
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Palestinian statehood remains very difficult question for Israel to answer, pushed further away by the October 7 attacks and 15 months of brutal war in Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas.—
Ellie Cook,
Newsweek,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Consider, for instance, that members of the interim government, despite their Islamist backgrounds, have refrained from any bellicose anti-Israeli rhetoric.—
Volker Perthes,
Foreign Affairs,
24 Jan. 2025
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The United States and China appear destined for a military conflict, with bellicose rhetoric on both sides, an escalating arms race and Beijing widely considered the most serious threat to the U.S. since the Cold War.—
Brad Dress,
The Hill,
7 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bare-knuckle. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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