nude

American  

[nood, nyood] / nud, njud /

adjective

• nuder,
  comparative
• nudest
  superlative

1. naked or unclothed, as a person or the body.

   Synonyms:

   exposed, undressed, uncovered

2. without the usual coverings, furnishings, etc.; bare.

   a nude stretch of land laid waste by brush fires.

3. (of a photograph, painting, statue, etc.) being or prominently displaying a representation of the nude human figure.

4. Law. made without a consideration or other legal essential.

   a nude contract.

5. having the color nude.

---

noun

• nudes
  plural

1. a sculpture, painting, etc., of a nude human figure.

2. an unclothed human figure.

3. the condition of being unclothed.

   to sleep in the nude.

4. (no longer in common use; now considered offensive) a light grayish-yellow brown to brownish-pink color.

5. a color that falls within the spectrum of human skin colors.

nude British  

/ njuːd /

adjective

1. completely unclothed; undressed

2. having no covering; bare; exposed

3. law

   1. lacking some essential legal requirement, esp supporting evidence

   2. (of a contract, agreement, etc) made without consideration and void unless under seal

---

noun

1. the state of being naked (esp in the phrase in the nude )

2. a naked figure, esp in painting, sculpture, etc

Sensitive Note

See flesh color.

Pronunciation

See new .

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nudeness
  noun
• seminude
  adjective
• subnude
  adjective
• nudely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nudes
  plural

Adjectives

• nuder
  comparative
• nudest
  superlative

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

See Examples For:

nude nudes

Did groups of men really treat tuberculosis by exercising nude?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

On Wednesday, one of Freud’s four nude portraits of her sold at Sotheby’s London for $39 million, the third-highest auction price for the artist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

The "covered-up" image of a nude artefact has been withdrawn from an Indian school textbook after it sparked a massive backlash from historians and educationists.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

Supermodel Heidi Klum got tongues wagging on the red carpet while taking comically short steps in a nude latex dress.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

Their lipstick was nude and pink, never red.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

The handmade stoneware tiles of Florencia Rothschild at Wishbone honor femininity and self-care in mural-like assemblages of nudes engaging in yoga, Pilates and rest, foregrounding the human form without sexualizing it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

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

The museum wants to establish O’Keeffe’s modernist bona fides by defining her penchant for repeating images — landscapes, flowers, West Texas canyons, portraits, female nudes, evening stars — as a “serial practice.”

From New York Times ● May 5, 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

Related Words

• naked