Stark — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Stark (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. harsh and threatening in manner or appearance

   "stark and forbidding mountains that the settlers knew that they would have to cross"

   similar: austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, grim, gruff, intimidating, lowering, rough, rugged, severe, steely, stern, ungentle
   related: bleak, cold, hostile, inhospitable, inimical, unfriendly, unsympathetic, adamant, bound, determined, firm, intent, purposeful, resolute, resolved, steadfast, unflinching, fixed, hard, hardened, hardheaded, immovable, implacable, inflexible, ironhanded, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, self-willed, set, stiff, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful, immutable, unchangeable, black, cheerless, dark, gloomy, glum, joyless, melancholic, moody, morose, sulky, sullen, surly, brooding, grave, humorless, melancholy, serious, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber, staid, unsmiling, weighty
   opposite: benign, benignant, gentle, mild, nonintimidating, tender
   near: bland, meek, mellow, soft, soothing, easy, quiet, tranquil, agreeable, bright, cheerful, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, sweet, glad, happy, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, sunny, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, playful, scatterbrained, silly

2. having no exceptions or restrictions

   "the school's stark prohibition against obscene slogans on clothing"

   similar: absolute, all-out, arrant, blank, blooming (chiefly British), bodacious (Southern & Midland), categorical, clean, complete, consummate, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very
   related: authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable, constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting, extreme, unrestricted, confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate, extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrific
   near: doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

3. lacking contents that could or should be present

   "house buyers trying to imagine what those stark rooms would look like when filled with furniture"

   similar: bare, blank, clean, devoid, empty, toom (chiefly Scottish), vacant, vacuous, void
   related: barren, hollow, available, clear, free, open, unfilled, unfurnished, unattended, uninhabited, unoccupied, abandoned, deserted, emptied, forsaken, vacated, depleted, drained, dry, exhausted
   opposite: full
   near: complete, replete, furnished, provided, supplied, filled, occupied, flush, overflowing, packed, teeming

4. producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation

   "a once-lush landscape rendered depressingly stark by strip-mining and deforestation"

   similar: barren, bony, dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, unfertile, unproductive, waste
   related: bleak, inhospitable, lifeless, uncultivable, untillable, bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up, arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere, thirsty, waterless, baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked
   opposite: fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich
   near: arable, tillable, green, sylvan, verdant

5. providing only the essentials and nothing fancy or luxurious

   "monks who have committed themselves to living in stark cells and working and praying in silence"

   similar: austere, no-frills, spartan
   related: plain, simple, unadorned, undecorated, unelaborate, unfancy
   opposite: deluxe, Lucullan, luxe, luxurious, plush
   near: adorned, decorated, elaborate, fancy