stark

¹ American  

[stahrk] / stɑrk /

adjective

starker, starkest

1. sheer, utter, downright, or complete.

   This plan is stark madness!

2. harsh, grim, or desolate, as a view, place, etc..

   Her photos capture the stark desert landscape.

3. extremely simple or severe.

   With its stark interior and rough ride, the car scores low in our luxury car ranking.

4. bluntly or sternly plain; not softened or glamorized.

   He panicked suddenly at the stark reality of the approaching deadline.

5. distinct, sharp, or vivid.

   The thriving community gardens stood in stark contrast to vacant land and abandoned buildings.

6. stiff or rigid in substance, muscles, etc.

7. rigid in death.

8. Archaic. strong; powerful; massive or robust.

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adverb

1. utterly, absolutely, or quite.

   stark mad.

2. Chiefly Scot. and North England. in a stark manner; stoutly or vigorously.

Stark ² American  

[stahrk, shtahrk] / stɑrk, ʃtɑrk /

noun

1. Harold Raynsford 1880–1972, U.S. admiral.

2. Johannes 1874–1957, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1919.

3. John, 1728–1822, American Revolutionary War general.

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stark ¹ British  

/ stɑːk /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) devoid of any elaboration; blunt

   the stark facts

2. grim; desolate

   a stark landscape

3. (usually prenominal) utter; absolute

   stark folly

4. archaic severe; violent

5. archaic rigid, as in death (esp in the phrases stiff and stark, stark dead )

6. short for stark-naked

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adverb

1. completely

   stark mad

Stark ² British  

noun

1. Dame Freya ( Madeline ) (ˈfreɪə). 1893–1993, British traveller and writer, whose many books include The Southern Gates of Arabia (1936), Beyond Euphrates (1951), and The Journey's Echo (1963)

2. Johannes (joˈhanəs). 1874–1957, German physicist, who discovered the splitting of the lines of a spectrum when the source of light is subjected to a strong electrostatic field ( Stark effect , 1913): Nobel prize for physics 1919

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Related Words

See austere, bare ¹.

Other Word Forms

• starkly adverb
• starkness noun

Etymology

Origin of stark

First recorded before 900; (adjective) Middle English; Old English stearc “stiff, firm”; cognate with German stark “strong”; akin to Old Norse sterkr “strong”; akin to starch, stare; (adverb) Middle English sterke, derivative of the adjective

Example Sentences

Not at one with the Alpine car, and a scary moment slowing heavily into Spoon Curve causing Ollie Bearman's 50G crash is a stark reminder of the safety measures implemented in today's Formula 1.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

The difference is especially stark in Santa Ana, where the median salary is $95,118 — over $56,000 less than the projected salary needed to live comfortably in the city for a single adult.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026

His unnamed, unrefined spy who liked to cook was in stark relief to the suave man’s man that was James Bond and an uncomfortable sight for some of the producers of the film adaptation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Christoph Heilig said he discovered that they consistently rated "nonsense" higher -- including when their so-called "reasoning" features were activated -- which could have stark implications for the development of artificial intelligence.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

The stark pallor gave way to soft blossoms of color as her yellowed, paper-thin skin warmed.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• austere
• bleak
• depressing
• desolate
• grim
• harsh