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Glite Dictionary
🥊 Without gloves 💥 Unrestrained competition
bare-knuckle

bare-knuckle

1 7.5
Being rough and fierce in competition or argument, not following rules
  • adjective
  • /ˈbɛrˌnʌkəl/
translation icon : agresivo
  • Ben-Dror Yemeni, whom Haaretz describes as "one of the nation's more consistent and often bare-knuckle critics of the Israeli and international left," has written a newspaper column arguing for an end to Israel's assault on Gaza: "It's not pleasant, but you have to admit that the left is correct."
  • bare-knuckle tactics

And we would go on to have a really, really bare knuckle fight for the morality a couple years later.

Examples

  • His bare-knuckle approach to debate left little room for politeness or civility.

  • Once you take a few steps back, it doesn't take a genius to see that—while the two organizations are engaged in a years-long bare-knuckle brawl, the two would get a lot further if they worked together instead of wasting so much energy fighting.

    Blog text (3)

  • Winning a bare-knuckle fight in politics usually comes back to haunt you.

    Blog text (4)

  • The negotiation turned into bare-knuckle business, with no one willing to compromise.

  • They engaged in bare-knuckle tactics to win the election, showing no regard for the usual political norms.

Synonyms

rough-and-tumble
vsbare-knuckle
  • Informal
3 7.3

Energetic and rough, not following usual rules

is tougher and more fiercely competitive rather than merely disorderly
bare-knuckled
vsbare-knuckle
1 7.9

Showing very direct, harsh behaviour that ignores rules or politeness

has identical meaning but differs only in its written form

Antonyms

restrained
5.3

Calm and controlled, not strong or showy

How Fierce

brutal
  • NSFW
229 4.8
bare-knuckle
1 7.5
aggressive
248 3.6
fierce
220 3.0

Surface Forms

bare-knuckle positive

Morphology

bare-knuckle = bare + knuckle (semi-transparent) = bare + knuckle

The compound is used figuratively to mean 'unrestrained' or 'fierce'; the sense is an extension from the literal 'without protection' and is not fully literal.

Etymology

Bare-knuckle also gives a clear picture: a fight with bare 'uncovered' knuckle looks rough and without rules, so it helps you remember the second meaning. That's why it describes actions that are 'tough' and 'not controlled by rules'.