starkly

American  

[stahrk-lee] / ˈstɑrk li /

adverb

1. in a harsh, grim, or desolate way.

   Working in the slums confronted us starkly with the sufferings of others.

2. extremely simply, sparely, or austerely.

   Even in wealthier households, bedrooms were starkly furnished, with just a bed and perhaps a chair and a small table.

3. in a blunt or sternly plain way, without softening.

   To put it more starkly, your great-grandmother was a common criminal.

4. in a way that is highly contrastive; distinctly or sharply.

   The case presents two starkly different views of mobile device targeting by advertisers.

5. completely or utterly; downright.

   We both know that it's starkly impossible to hide an operation as big as that from a spy system as good as theirs.

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Etymology

Origin of starkly

First recorded before 900; stark ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, starkly told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this past week.

From Barron's

Mamdani has sought to chart a starkly different course from his predecessor Adams, a flamboyant former police captain known for his idiosyncratic style and love of publicity.

From Barron's

In a report this week, U.N. scientists warn that the world has entered a new era of “global water bankruptcy” — a term that starkly underlines the urgency of efforts needed to protect what remains.

From Los Angeles Times

The bruising evening made Indiana’s coronation starkly different from its previous two rounds in the playoff, when the Hoosiers stomped heavyweights Alabama and Oregon.

From The Wall Street Journal

Administration officials have been scornful of such thinking, reflecting a fundamental shift in American foreign policy that was set out most starkly last month in a new national-security strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal