starkly

[stahrk-lee]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of starkly¹

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

Example Sentences

Weighing on the EU's mind is the picture in the United States -- starkly different today from 2023 -- with Big Tech cultivating close ties with the current White House.

Read more on Barron's

Still, it’s hard to ignore how starkly different Riley’s Trojans have looked when challenged away from home.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

On both Israel and India he has staked out starkly partisan positions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The scene is starkly similar to what Springsteen wrote about in one of the album’s most evocative songs — where children play outside “steel gates that completely surround, sir / the mansion on the hill.”

Read more on Salon

His early life in the States was starkly different from the current lavish life he lives.

Read more on MarketWatch