barehanded

3.7

Using the hands without gloves or other covering

adverb
/ˈbɛrˌhændɪd/

: a mano desnuda

He caught the snake barehanded and released it into the wild.

Examples

He caught the fish barehanded.
I prefer to handle the tools barehanded.
During the challenge, contestants must open oysters barehanded without any tools.
She managed to fix the wires barehanded despite the risk.
During the challenge, contestants must open oysters barehanded without any tools.
He caught the snake barehanded and released it into the wild.
She managed to fix the wires barehanded despite the risk.

Synonyms

bare-knuckle

vsbarehanded

2 7.5

Done without gloves or other protection in fights

is about using hands without covering in general situations, not only fights

with bare hands

vsbarehanded

1 3.5

Using only your hands and no tools or weapons

focuses on hands being uncovered rather than on absence of tools

gloveless

vsbarehanded

1 4.0

Having no gloves on the hands

refers to using the hands without any covering rather than just lacking gloves

Antonyms

gloved

4 3.0

Wearing gloves on the hands

protected

1 2.0

Kept safe from harm or danger

How Covered

gloved

4 3.0

barehanded

3.7

Surface Forms

barehanded positive

Morphology

barehanded = bare + handed (transparent) = bare + hand + ed

The meaning is directly compositional: 'bare' (without covering) + 'handed' (with hands) yields 'with bare hands', which learners can derive from the components.

Etymology

Barehanded comes from bare 'without covering' and hand 'the body part'. So to do something barehanded is to use your hands 'uncovered', without gloves or tools.