Few vs Bare - What's the difference?
few | bare |
(preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
(meteorology, of clouds) (US?) Obscuring one eighth to two eighths of the sky.
(meteorology, of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
Minimal; that is or are just sufficient.
* Addison
Naked, uncovered.
Having no supplies.
* 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
Having no decoration.
Having had what usually covers (something) removed.
(British, slang, not comparable) A lot or lots of.
With head uncovered; bareheaded.
* Herbert
Without anything to cover up or conceal one's thoughts or actions; open to view; exposed.
* Milton
Threadbare; much worn.
* Shakespeare
(British, slang) Very; significantly.
Barely.
*
*
Without a condom
the surface, the (bare) skin
* 1599 ,
* 2002 , Darren Shan, Hunters of the dusk: 7 :
Surface; body; substance.
* Marston
(architecture) That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate, which is exposed to the weather.
To uncover; to reveal.
(obsolete) (bear)
* Bible, Josh. iii. 15
* 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 5
As proper nouns the difference between few and bare
is that few is (british) the pilots who fought in the battle of britain while bare is an extinct language of venezuela.few
English
Determiner
A new prescription, passage=No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.}}
- I was expecting lots of people at the party, but very few''''' (=''almost none'') ''turned up. Quite a '''few''' of them'' (=''many of them'') ''were pleasantly surprised. I don't know how many drinks I've had, but I've had a '''few . [This usage is likely ironic.]
- NOAA definition of the term "few clouds": An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring phenomenon aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomenon are surface-based, such as fog.
Usage notes
* (term) is used with plural nouns only; its synonymous counterpart (little) is used with nouns. * Although indefinite in nature, a few is usually more than two (two often being referred to as "a couple of"), and less than "several". If the sample population is say between 5 and 20, a few would mean three or four, but no more than this. However, if the population sample size were in the millions, "a few" could refer to several hundred items. In other words, few'' in this context means ''a very very small percentage but way over the 3 or 4 usually ascribed to it its use with much much smaller numbers. : (term) is grammatically affirmative but semantically negative, and it can license negative polarity items. For example, lift a finger usually cannot be used in affirmative sentences, but can be used in sentences with (term). *: He didn't lift a finger to help us. *: *He lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical) *: Few people lifted a finger to help us. *: *A few people lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical) *: *Fewer people lifted a finger to help us. (ungrammatical)Synonyms
* little (see usage)Antonyms
* manyDerived terms
* a few * quite a fewAntonyms
* manyReferences
* Meteorology (both senses) *:NOAA Glossary: f
bare
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) .Adjective
(er)- a bare majority
- the bare necessaries of life
- Don't show your bare backside in public.
- a room bare of furniture
- The cupboard was bare .
- Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare .
- The walls of this room are bare — why not hang some paintings on them?
- The trees were left bare after the swarm of locusts devoured all the leaves.
- It's bare money to get in the club each time, man.
- When once thy foot enters the church, be bare .
- Bare in thy guilt, how foul must thou appear!
- It appears by their bare liveries that they live by your bare words.
Synonyms
* (minimal) mere, minimal * (without a condom) * (naked) exposed, naked, nude, uncovered, undressed * (having no supplies) empty, unfurnished, unstocked, unsupplied * (having no decoration) empty, plain, unadorned, undecorated * (having had what usually covers (something) removed ): despoiled, stripped, uncoveredAntonyms
* (minimal) ample, plentiful, sufficient * (naked) covered, covered up, dressed, unexposed * (having no supplies) full, furnished, stocked, supplied, well-stocked * (having no decoration) adorned, decorated, ornate * coveredDerived terms
* ace bare * bareback * barebacked * bare boards * bareboat * barebone * bare bones * bare-breasted * bare-chested * barefaced * barefoot, barefooted * barehanded * bareheaded * bare-knuckle fight * bareland * barelegged * barely * bareness * bare patch * barish * in one's bare skin * king bare * lay bare * threadbare * with one's bare handsAdverb
- This porno's bare whack, bruv.
Noun
(en noun)- In sad good earnest, sir, you have toucht the very bare of naked truth [...]
- Vancha clasped the bare of my neck and squeezed amiably.
- You have touched the very bare of naked truth.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) (m).Verb
(bar)- She bared her teeth at him.
Synonyms
* (uncover) expose, lay bare, reveal, show, uncoverAntonyms
* (uncover) cover, cover up, hideDerived terms
* bare one's breast * bare one's soul * bare one's teethEtymology 3
Inflected forms.Verb
(head)- The feet of the priest that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water.
- And so I put thee on my shoulder and bare thee back, and here thou art in David's room, and shalt find board and bed with me as long as thou hast mind to