Nearby Words
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adjective
1.
sheer, utter, downright, or complete: stark madness.
2.
harsh, grim, or desolate, as a view, place, etc.: a stark landscape.
3.
extremely simple or severe: a stark interior.
4.
bluntly or sternly plain; not softened or glamorized: the stark reality of the schedule's deadline.
5.
EXPANDstiff or rigid in substance, muscles, etc.
adverb
8.
utterly, absolutely, or quite: stark mad.
9.
Chiefly Scot. and North England. in a stark manner; stoutly or vigorously.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Starker
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
stark
O.E. stearc "stiff, strong" (related to starian "to stare"), from P.Gmc. *starkaz (cf. O.N. sterkr, O.Fris. sterk, M.Du. starc, O.H.G. starah, Ger. stark, Goth. *starks), from PIE base *ster- "stiff, rigid" (see stare). Meaning "utter, sheer, complete" first recorded c.1400,
EXPANDperhaps from infl. of common phrase stark dead (late 14c.), with stark mistaken as an intensive adj. Sense of "bare, barren" is from 1833. Stark naked (1520s) is from M.E. start naked (early 13c.), from O.E. steort "tail, rump." Hence Brit. slang starkers "naked" (1923).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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