Nude vs. Naked
Are you nude or naked as you read this?
Is being nude the same as being naked, or is there a difference?
What are your thoughts on what may be a simple question on the surface, but may have some interesting differences if you wander down a philisophical rabbit hole?
No difference, nude or naked. And yes, I'm currently naked, as I am every morning of every day, no matter where I am. I get what some may say about these words being more comfortable in the non-nudist world, but it's all in the delivery and inflection of your voice. I/we use naked all the time and don't seem to have an issue with those we talk to. They do, however, ask why we use the word naked instead of nude when we are nudists. Neither of us have an issue with the word naked. If some do, that's their personal choice. They can have it as long as they don't infringe on my use of the word naked.
No difference in basic meaning, but as with all synonyms, a writer would find reasons to use one or the other. As is usually the case, "nude" - the half of the doublet inherited from Latin - is a bit more formal, "naked", from English's germanic roots, more vernacular. You'd use "naked" in telling a joke. "Nude" is always used for artistic nudity, and works well as a noun in that context - one can paint or sculpt "a nude" but not "a naked." Nude is always the legal word - "public nudity." But the same transgression expressed more earthily in religious language is nakedness - "uncovered his nakedness". And of course we're nudists - using the more formal word - not nakedists.
What SteveInKona said - agree 100%.
As a nudist, a writer and a photographer of "the nude" I make a definite distinction between the two words, even though a computer probably would not. The words carry the same literal meaning but very different emotional tones.
Emotionally, in writing, I use naked to mean either harshly exposed, as in "they stripped him naked," or playfully, as in "he went frolicking naked through the field," as opposed to nude, used to describe being comfortably unclothed, "relaxing nude around the lake" or something more formal, such as "perusing the nudes in the gallery."
In photography I use the phrase "nude, but not naked" to describe photos I do that I post on my artistic nude photography page (my web site www.ArtByRedWolf.com). In those cases where the subjects are clearly unclothed and fully nude, but no genitals are visible, I describe the pictures as "nude, but not naked" as a way to indicate a limit.
That's just how I use the words. For me they carry the same literal meaning (undressed, without clothing or covering), but different emotional connotations.
And sadly, no, not nude (or naked) at the moment, as I type this. :-(
I am glad there have been a few thoughtful responses Although these words are used interchangeably I look at subtle differences in context To me, naked is a personal state of being stripped physically or emotionally for all the world to see Yes I am naked Nothing between my skin and the rest of the world Nude is less personal way of describing something that is uncovered whether it be yourself or someone or something else
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