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adj Common

stark

stahk
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Stark (adj) means Severe, bare, or bleak in appearance. Example: “The hospital room was stark, with white walls and a single chair.”

adj
1
Severe, bare, or bleak in appearance.
"The hospital room was stark, with white walls and a single chair."
"The desert offered a stark, empty landscape."
"There was a stark contrast between the two neighbourhoods."
2
Complete or absolute, used to emphasize how extreme something is.
"The results were a stark warning that something had gone badly wrong."
"She felt stark terror when the lights suddenly went out."
"The two plans were in stark opposition to each other."
adv
1
Completely; utterly (used mainly in the phrase "stark naked").
"The children ran into the garden stark naked, giggling loudly."
"He woke from the nightmare and found himself standing stark naked in the hallway."
"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
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Word forms

Third person singular
starks
Past tense
starked
Comparative
starker
Superlative
starkest
Test yourself on “stark” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

The hospital room was _____, with white walls and a single chair.

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."

Origin: Old English

Synonyms

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austere bleak harsh grim desolate utter consummate arrant blunt bare complete barren

Antonyms

fancy

Related words

total serious feeling perfect complete evil empty severe

Rhymes for stark

ark lark dark mark Sark bark hark park shark spark Clark
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Frequently asked questions

What does “stark” mean?
The word “stark” means severe, bare, or bleak in appearance. In plain terms, harsh, bare, or extreme — often describing landscapes, contrasts, or differences.
How do you pronounce “stark”?
“Stark” is pronounced stahk (/stɑɹk/ in IPA).
How do you use “stark” in a sentence?
Here is “stark” used in a sentence: “The desert offered a stark, empty landscape.”
What part of speech is “stark”?
Depending on how it is used, “stark” can be an adjective and an adverb.
Where does the word “stark” come from?
The word “stark” comes from Old English.
Is “stark” a common word?
“Stark” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “stark” have?
“Stark” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: severe, bare, or bleak in appearance.
What is the difference between stark and bleak?
Both can describe severe, bare scenes, but bleak foregrounds a lack of hope, warmth, or cheer, as in "a bleak outlook." Stark foregrounds bare, unsoftened severity — "a stark room," "the stark truth" — and unlike bleak it also works as a pure intensifier in phrases such as "stark contrast."
Why do people say "stark naked"?
In "stark naked," stark is an adverb meaning completely or utterly, so the phrase means entirely without clothes. This adverbial use survives mainly in that fixed expression, with a related emphatic use in "stark raving mad."
What are common collocations with stark?
Stark typically pairs with words for hard truths and sharp differences: stark contrast, stark reality, stark reminder, stark warning, and stark choice. In these phrases it signals that something is presented plainly and without softening.

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