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View synonyms for

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; German shtahrk ]

noun

  1. Harold Rayns·ford [reynz, -ferd], 1880–1972, U.S. admiral.
  2. ·󲹲·Ա [yoh-, hah, -n, uh, s], 1874–1957, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1919.
  3. John, 1728–1822, American Revolutionary War general.

Stark

1

noun

  1. ɑː StarkFreya (Madeline), Dame18931993FBritishTRAVEL AND EXPLORATION: travellerWRITING: writer 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. ʃٲ StarkJohannes18741957MGermanSCIENCE: physicist 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

2

/ ɑː /

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
“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

adverb

  1. completely

    stark mad

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈٲԱ, noun
  • ˈٲ, adverb
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Other Word Forms

  • ٲ· adverb
  • ٲ·Ա noun
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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of stark1

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

That stands in stark contrast to the current stalemate between the city and the Angels over the future of Angel Stadium.

From

More than any particular policy, Trump’s second try at the presidency has proved a stark departure from the first because, this time around, he is testing whether any limits exist on executive authority.

From

Director David Cromer, whose sensibility gravitates between stark and dark, endows the staging with macabre elegance.

From

The bond rating downgrades came days after Mayor Karen Bass outlined the city’s stark economic situation in her proposed budget for 2025-26, which includes laying off about 1,650 city workers.

From

These stark disparities are signs of arbitrary action, not rational policymaking.

From

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