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starkest - 2 dictionary results

stark

  [stahrk] adjective, -er, -est, adverb
Use starkest in a Sentence
–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. stiff or rigid in substance, muscles, etc.
6. rigid in death.
7. Archaic. strong; powerful; massive or robust.
–adverb
8. utterly, absolutely, or quite: stark mad.
9. Chiefly Scot. and North England. in a stark manner; stoutly or vigorously.
Origin:
bef. 900; (adj.) ME; OE stearc stiff, firm; c. G stark strong; akin to ON sterkr strong; akin to starch, stare; (adv.) ME sterke, deriv. of the adj.

Related forms:
starkly, adverb
starkness, noun

Synonyms:
2, 3. See austere, bare.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To starkest
stark   (stärk)   
adj.   stark·er, stark·est
  1. Bare or blunt: "His language has become increasingly stark, to the point of sounding strident" (Robert Pear).
  2. Complete or utter; extreme: stark poverty; a stark contrast.
  3. Harsh; grim: "faced with that stark future" (Robert C. McFarlane). "[They] found it hard to accept such a stark portrait of unrelieved failure" (W. Bruce Lincoln).
adv.  Utterly; entirely: stark raving mad.

[Middle English, stiff, severe, strong, from Old English stearc; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
stark'ly adv., stark'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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