bare-knuckle
adjective or adverb
bare-knuck·le
ˈber-ˈnə-kəl 
variants
or less commonly bare-knuckled
or bare-knuckles
1
: not using boxing gloves
champion bare-knuckle prizefighter of England—
Dennis Craig
Dennis Craigwhen men fought bare-knuckle
2
: having a fierce unrelenting character
bare-knuckle politics
Examples of bare-knuckle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But Prograis also flirted with the idea of bare-knuckle boxing.
—Josh Katzowitz, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
For the 1991 update, Robert De Niro turns the terror up even higher for his take on Cady, and Scorsese puts out a bare-knuckle thriller that’s pulpier than almost anything else in his repertoire.
—Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2024
Lewandowski is a mercurial figure with a reputation for bare-knuckle campaigning.
—Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024
Vanity Fair journalist Gabriel Sherman, who wrote the screenplay, draws a direct line between Cohn’s bare-knuckle tactics and Trump’s modern-day political persona.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-knuckle 
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Josh Katzowitz, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
For the 1991 update, Robert De Niro turns the terror up even higher for his take on Cady, and Scorsese puts out a bare-knuckle thriller that’s pulpier than almost anything else in his repertoire.
—Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2024
Lewandowski is a mercurial figure with a reputation for bare-knuckle campaigning.
—Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024
Vanity Fair journalist Gabriel Sherman, who wrote the screenplay, draws a direct line between Cohn’s bare-knuckle tactics and Trump’s modern-day political persona.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bare-knuckle
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Dictionary Entries Near bare-knuckle
Cite this Entry
“Bare-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bare-knuckle. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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