stark

[ stahrk ]

/ stɑrk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR stark ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, stark·er, stark·est.

sheer, utter, downright, or complete: stark madness.

harsh, grim, or desolate, as a view, place, etc.: a stark landscape.

extremely simple or severe: a stark interior.

bluntly or sternly plain; not softened or glamorized: the stark reality of the schedule's deadline.

stiff or rigid in substance, muscles, etc.

rigid in death.

Archaic. strong; powerful; massive or robust.

adverb

utterly, absolutely, or quite: stark mad.

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

Words nearby stark

starfished, starflower, starfucker, stargaze, stargazer, stark, stark effect, stark raving mad, stark-naked, starker, starkers

Origin of stark

before 900; (adj.) Middle English; Old English stearc stiff, firm; cognate with German stark strong; akin to Old Norse sterkr strong; akin to starch, stare; (adv.) Middle English sterke, derivative of the adj.

OTHER WORDS FROM stark

stark·ly, adverbstark·ness, noun

synonym study for stark

2, 3. See austere, bare¹.

Definition for stark (2 of 2)

Stark

[ stahrk; for 2 also German shtahrk ]

/ stɑrk; for 2 also German ʃtɑrk /

noun

Harold Rayns·ford

[reynz-ferd] /ˈreɪnz fərd/, 1880–1972, U.S. admiral.

Jo·han·nes

[yoh-hah-nuh s] /yoʊˈhɑ nəs/, 1874–1957, German physicist: Nobel prize 1919.

John,1728–1822, American Revolutionary War general.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for stark

His constant worship of his wife stands in stark contrast to scandals of the domestic nature in other sports.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player|William O’Connor|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These images, videos and messages became a lifeline between two worlds and a stark record of the distance between them.
War Is About More Than Heroes, Martyrs, and Patriots|Nathan Bradley Bethea|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fun of the episode, however, stands in stark contrast to its conclusion.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Self Help’: A Grim Show Displays Its Comedy Streak, and A Major Reveal|Melissa Leon|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With some areas, the differences are stark in terms of where this windfall lands.
Trustafarians Want to Tell You How to Live|Joel Kotkin|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A recent Pew Poll graphically likewise portrays the stark national divide, and the granular differences are gaping.
The 2014 Election Is Yet Another Scrum in the Culture Wars|Lloyd Green|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Its sanities are stark madness to the matter-of-fact man of affairs.
The Quiver, 2/1900|Various
When the chill morning dawned, their dead lay cold and stark together.
Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland|Henry B. Stanton
"I see," answered the clerk, respectfully, for Stark's words led him to think that his guest was a man of wealth.
Driven From Home|Horatio Alger
By the stark unmerciful sunlight; by the rude, revealing glow of the impending day how much more scandalous would it be!
The Life of the Party|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
Stark looked over the report and then made a notation on a small pink slip.
Blind Spot|Bascom Jones

British Dictionary definitions for stark (1 of 2)

stark

/ (stɑːk) /

adjective

(usually prenominal) devoid of any elaboration; bluntthe stark facts

grim; desolatea stark landscape

(usually prenominal) utter; absolutestark folly

archaic severe; violent

archaic, or poetic rigid, as in death (esp in the phrases stiff and stark, stark dead)

short for stark-naked

adverb

completelystark mad

Derived forms of stark

starkly, adverbstarkness, noun

Word Origin for stark

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

British Dictionary definitions for stark (2 of 2)

Stark

noun

(stɑːk) 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)

(German ʃtark) 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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

stark

adjective, stark·er, stark·est.

adverb

Words related to stark

Words nearby stark

Origin of stark

OTHER WORDS FROM stark

synonym study for stark

Definition for stark (2 of 2)

noun

Examples from the Web for stark

British Dictionary definitions for stark (1 of 2)

adjective

adverb

Derived forms of stark

Word Origin for stark

British Dictionary definitions for stark (2 of 2)

noun