7

In the dictionary,

naked [more naked; most naked] : not wearing any clothes : not covered by clothing

a naked [=nude] man

the naked human body

her naked [=(more commonly) bare] shoulders

He was naked from the waist up.

The prisoners were stripped naked. [=all of their clothes were taken off]

She was half naked [=partly dressed] when the doorbell rang.

He's stark naked. [=he's completely naked]

So, if a girl has no clothes whatsoever on, we can say "she is naked"

What if she has no clothes from her waist all the way up to her neck but still has clothes from the waist down to the feet? How to express in that situation?

or she has no clothes from her waist all the way down to the feet but still has clothes from the waist up to her neck?

or she is wearing a dress or skirt but wearing no pants or underwear?

She can say "she is half-naked" but that is not so clear.

How to express "naked" in different situations?

Improve this question
0

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
11

Technically, "naked" is an absolute adjective. "Nakeder" and "nakedest" make no sense and should seldom be used except for humorous effect: after all no one can have fewer clothes on than none.

If we want to emphasize how shocking the nakedness is, a frequent intensifier is "bare" as in "bare naked," which is redundant but not absurd. Or you can use a simile such "naked as a new born baby."

When it comes to people who are not literally naked but only partially clothed (remembering that "fully clothed" is a socially defined and thus somewhat fuzzy concept), the most general expressions relate to being clothed, which does admit of degree.

He was partially unclothed

or

He was only partially clothed.

We can of course describe where a person is naked (again this depends on social definitions of an unusual degree of bare skin)

She was naked from the waist up

implies that she was not naked otherwise.

She was naked from the waist down

implies that she was not naked otherwise.

And you can say

She was almost naked

That implies that she literally was not naked but that the social effect is the same as though she were.

But none of this works if the bare skin is considered socially acceptable

With that shirt, you will be naked from your biceps to your fingernails

is either a joke or an absurdity.

And finally you can make use of "except" if someone is almost fully unclothed to specify in what respect that someone is not naked.

He was naked except for his silly cowboy boots.

If you want to get more detailed about what items of clothing considered socially appropriate are absent, then a single word will not do.

What in the world are you writing?

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    > no one can have fewer clothes on than none Have you seen the clip to Rock DJ by Robbie Williams?
    – mcalex
    Oct 26, 2019 at 10:35
  • Regarding "That implies that she literally was not naked but that the social effect is the same as though she were," this assumed social effect is highly dependent on context and the norms of the person speaking. There are plenty of people who would call someone (especially a girl/woman) "almost naked" when they're fully clothed in a way that would not be startling at all in many settings.
    – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
    Oct 27, 2019 at 1:36
  • @ R Did you read where I wrote "'fully clothed' is a socially defined and thus somewhat fuzzy concept"? Or where I wrote "this depends on social definitions"? Why do you think I kept using the words "social" and "socially."
    – Jeff Morrow
    Oct 27, 2019 at 3:32
9

If she has no clothes from her waist up to her neck you can say she is topless

If she has no clothes from her waist down to her feet you can say she is bottomless but this is less common and may only be understood in relation to being topless.

If you are looking for a more demure way to say she is completely naked, you can say that she was nude

You can also use it to say that she was nude from the waist up or nude from the waist down

You could use the borrowed French au naturel for not wearing underwear.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Fun slang for "bottomless", if the audience is familiar with Western animation: "I was Donald Ducking it" = I had no pants, just a shirt. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck. Used mostly for comedic effect; it's not really idiomatic.
    – Peter Cordes
    Oct 25, 2019 at 22:42
3

You could say "half-naked" but that has the problems you mention. One option is to say "half naked from the waist down" or "half naked from the waist up." If you are referring to a specific situation, you could describe what she is wearing to make sure your reader understands. "She was only wearing a skirt" or "She was only wearing a red shirt."

Improve this answer
1
  • "half naked from the waist up" is ambiguous. It could also mean wearing just a bra or other revealing undergarment on top, not totally bare from the waist up. (Otherwise you would have left out the word "half".) Without any context I would assume the word "half" was applying to the nudity, not to the body area (which is already clearly described by "from the waist up").
    – Peter Cordes
    Oct 25, 2019 at 22:45
3

Naked:

is an absolute adjective. Meaning someone, something, some idea or a place is without traditional covering.

How you can use it depending on your context :

What if she has no clothes from her waist all the way up to her neck but still has clothes from the waist down to the feet? How to express in that situation?

She was naked from waist all the way up to her neck.

or she has no clothes from her waist all the way down to the feet but still has clothes from the waist up to her neck?

She was naked from waist all the way down to the feet.

or she is wearing a dress or skirt but wearing no pants or underwear?

She was naked under her skirt.

She was naked under her dress.

What are the other situations you can express naked at:

Merriam-Webster:

Devoid of customary or natural covering;

not enclosed in a scabbard

a naked sword

not provided with a shade

a naked light

lacking embellishment

hands naked of rings

unarmed, defenseless unwilling to hurt

a naked man

lacking confirmation or support

naked contracts

devoid of concealment or disguise

the naked truth

naked aggression

unaided by any optical device or instrument

the naked eye

there are many other examples can be given about it but this must be enough..

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    I would argue that "she wore nothing under her [...]" is more idiomatic than those sentences with "naked" you used..
    – Zachiel
    Oct 26, 2019 at 8:55
  • @Zachiel I agree there are better ways to define yet the questions is "How to express "naked" in different situations?" and my answer focused on that...
    – Berker Yüceer
    Oct 28, 2019 at 6:07
  • @JeffMorrow you are right may be I over rated it fixing now.
    – Berker Yüceer
    Oct 28, 2019 at 6:08
  • 1
    @BY Thanks for the fix. I shall delete my prior comment as a result and give you an upvote.
    – Jeff Morrow
    Oct 28, 2019 at 13:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .