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View synonyms for stark

stark

1

[ stahrk ]

adjective

, stark·er, stark·est.
  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. Jo·han·nes [yoh-, hah, -n, uh, s], 1874–1957, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1919.
  3. John, 1728–1822, American Revolutionary War general.

Stark

1

noun

  1. stɑːk 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. ʃtark 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


stark

2

/ 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

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Derived Forms

  • ˈstarkness, noun
  • ˈstarkly, adverb

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Other Words From

  • stark·ly adverb
  • stark·ness 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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