adj

stark

stahk

adj

Severe, bare, or bleak in appearance.

"The desert offered a stark, empty landscape."

"There was a stark contrast between the two neighbourhoods."

Complete or absolute, used to emphasize how extreme something is.

"The two plans were in stark opposition to each other."

adv

Completely; utterly (used mainly in the phrase "stark naked").

"He jumped out of bed stark naked when the alarm went off."

How to Use Stark

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHarsh, bare, or extreme — often describing landscapes, contrasts, or differences.

Memory tip

Think of "stark" as adding intensity to bleakness: a "stark warning" is a blunt, serious one; a "stark contrast" is an extremely obvious difference.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

stark contrast stark reality stark naked stark landscape

Word Forms

starker comparative, starked past tense, Starks plural, starks singular, starkest superlative

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The desert offered a _____, empty landscape.

Etymology

From Old English stearc ("stiff, strong, severe"), from a Germanic root meaning "rigid." The phrase "stark naked" actually began as a play on "start naked" (from Middle English stert, "tail"), later reshaped by influence of "stark" meaning "utterly."

Rhymes for stark

ark lark dark mark Sark bark hark park shark quark spark Clark

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