stark

¹

[stahrk]

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.

adverb

1. utterly, absolutely, or quite.

   stark mad.

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

Stark

²

[stahrk, shtahrk]

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.

stark

¹

/ 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

adverb

1. completely

   stark mad

Stark

²

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

Other Word Forms

• starkness noun
• starkly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of stark¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of stark¹

Old English stearc stiff; related to Old Norse sterkr , Gothic gastaurknan to stiffen

Synonym Study

See austere, bare ¹.

Example Sentences

The contrast this time was stark, as Northern Ireland piled the pressure on the German defence in an additional two minutes that ended all to quickly - a tally O'Neill described as "ridiculous".

Read more on BBC

As health leaders and advocates gather to discuss what they describe as a "stark" gender gap, calls are growing for urgent action to tackle the inequality.

Read more on BBC

In stark contrast to Martin's unhappy experience, Gerrard hit the ground running at Rangers, going 12 games without defeat until his first visit to Celtic Park.

Read more on BBC

Putin issued a stark warning this week about giving Ukraine Tomahawks, which are one of the most precise U.S. weapons and have a range of around 1,500 miles.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Russia under Vladimir Putin provides the starkest example.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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