Nakedly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that is wholly bare and unembellished, lacking any form of disguise or pretense, while presenting thoughts or feelings in their most genuine form
2. In a manner that reveals everything transparently, devoid of any cloaking or falsehood, and expressing sentiments in their purest essence
3. Without any covering or concealment, showing complete exposure ; expressing something plainly and without any attempt to hide or soften the truth

Etymology: "Nakedly" is a plain formation: the adjective "naked" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" attached. The adjective goes back to Old English "nacod," which meant unclothed, and the adverb took shape in Middle English as "nakidly," with the same sense of doing something without covering. The word's meaning has widened over time. Its original physical sense, of a body or object left uncovered, now sits alongside a figurative one, in which a statement or a feeling is put forward with nothing hidden or softened. The figurative use is the more common today. Someone who speaks nakedly is not removing clothes but dropping the diplomatic padding, so the word describes bluntness of manner rather than exposure of the body. Because the root is so basic, the adverb reads as a simple, almost literal description, even though the metaphor behind it has been in use for centuries.

Synonyms: barely, openly, blatantly

Antonyms: disguisedly, secretly