nude
Americanadjective
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nuder,
comparative
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nudest
superlative
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naked or unclothed, as a person or the body.
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without the usual coverings, furnishings, etc.; bare.
a nude stretch of land laid waste by brush fires.
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(of a photograph, painting, statue, etc.) being or prominently displaying a representation of the nude human figure.
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Law. made without a consideration or other legal essential.
a nude contract.
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having the color nude.
noun
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nudes
plural
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a sculpture, painting, etc., of a nude human figure.
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an unclothed human figure.
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the condition of being unclothed.
to sleep in the nude.
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(no longer in common use; now considered offensive) a light grayish-yellow brown to brownish-pink color.
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a color that falls within the spectrum of human skin colors.
adjective
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completely unclothed; undressed
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having no covering; bare; exposed
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law
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lacking some essential legal requirement, esp supporting evidence
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(of a contract, agreement, etc) made without consideration and void unless under seal
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noun
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the state of being naked (esp in the phrase in the nude )
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a naked figure, esp in painting, sculpture, etc
Sensitive Note
See flesh color.
Pronunciation
See new .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of nude
1525–35; < Latin nūdus; see naked
Explanation
Someone who's nude isn't wearing any clothes. In modern society, we're generally nude in the shower but fully dressed when we go to work. Whether you say you're "in your birthday suit," "au naturel," or "unclothed" — when you're nude, you're naked. You might find the word in the phrase "in the nude," which also simply means nude, or describing a work of art as "a nude," or a painting or sculpture of a nude person. In the 1500s, nude was a legal term meaning "unsupported," from the Latin nudus, "bare." The "naked" definition didn't became popular until the nineteenth century.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At London Tech Week 2026, then Prime Minister Keir Starmer said technology companies would be expected to detect and block nude images on children's devices, or face legislation.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“So much of the history of art is the anonymity of women, whether she’s a Madonna, Venus or a nude bather,” says art historian Katy Hessel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Did groups of men really treat tuberculosis by exercising nude?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
One of the women at the centre of the report, whose name has been changed to Mahnoor to protect her privacy, explains that the images that changed her life were not nude.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
To him, only the heroic male nude possessed the physical monumentality necessary to express the awesome power of figures such as this mythical prophetess.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
The Musée Renoir, founded in 1960, showcases a dozen original Renoir paintings, including portraits, nudes and still-life paintings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Caillebotte has jettisoned the usual classical trappings of Greek and Roman heroes, which typically cloak male nudes in sober history and myth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025
The Text with Jesus app is inextricably linked to the deepfake nudes generated by supercharged tools from Microsoft and Google — in that they share one foolish premise at core.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2023
Unlike the fleshy, pulchritudinous and radiant nudes of Rubens and Renoir, Mr. Pearlstein’s models are painted as ordinary human beings.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2022
It was Michelangelo’s habit to base his female figures on male nudes drawn from life.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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