variants
also bare-knuckled
or bare-knuckles
as in gladiatorial
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bare-knuckle
Adjective
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The hope for the Charge is that their lines will come in waves with speed and an in-your-face style that can knock the Frost off their game.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
20 May 2025 -
What really changed for Bobrovsky was the Panthers went from a run-and-gun offensive team to an in-your-face defensive team under coach Paul Maurice.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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Little has been disclosed about the administration’s plan, which represents yet another salvo in President Trump’s combative push to reshape higher education, which has roiled academia, disrupted campus life and spilled into courts across the country.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
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The public backing of Crockett, known for controversial statements and confrontational tactics, signals a potential shift toward more combative political messaging.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Image The often pugnacious Mr. Connolly criticized a Republican bill in 2024 to rename Dulles International Airport, some of whose employees live in his district, after Mr. Trump.—
Trip Gabriel,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Paul is pugnacious, especially with the detectives when his criminal past prompts them to question him as a possible suspect.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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Harrison confidently adopts the take-no-prisoners physicality that makes Zephyr a worthy foe for Tucker, but her line readings are bland, doing nothing to enliven the basic script by Nick Lepard.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2025
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Elon Musk embodies it in all its brash, take-no-prisoners glory.—
Leisse Wilcox,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Russian propagandists are becoming even more belligerent now that the United States is considering harsher sanctions on Russia, while the European Union enacted them yesterday.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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Dear Eric: Last year my father’s funeral was ruined because of a rude and disrespectful cemetery security guard, who yelled at and became belligerent with my family for no reason.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
6 May 2025
Adjective
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Though Hunt Wynorski’s (Nick Zano) actual death happens off-screen, his pained panic at being trapped underwater by the suction pull of a public pool’s drain is an agonizing sequence, culminating in the gnarly visual of a blood-and-guts fountain.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
16 May 2025
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This is a blood-and-guts medical-show model, in which everything teeters on the brink of catastrophe at all times and the doctors are adrenaline junkies approximately one shift away from a complete mental breakdown.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In response to the vote, Iraqi troops retook vast swathes of territory seized by Kurdish forces during their joint fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 May 2025
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In December, after years of stalemate in the war, Assad’s long-standing authoritarian regime collapsed, in the face of an unexpected offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist militant group once affiliated with al-Qaida.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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In 2014, war broke out in the Donbas where my family lived, and Putin’s messaging around Victory Day became much more bellicose, making my family reject the holiday ever since.—
Sasha Vasilyuk,
Time,
8 May 2025
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Then a sudden switch: a bellicose, spine-stiffening bass line, and the instantly infamous refrain.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
15 May 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 3 Jun. 2025.
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