starkstark1 /stɑːk $ stɑːrk/ adjective 
In the cold dawn light, the castle looked stark and forbidding. the stark beauty of New Mexico2unpleasantly clear and impossible to avoid SYN harsh: The movie shows the stark realities of life in the ghetto. The extreme poverty of the local people is in stark contrast to the wealth of the tourists. We are faced with a stark choice. a stark reminder of life under Communist rule—starkly adverb—starkness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINstark1
Origin:
Old English stearc ‘stiff, strong’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- stark chrome furniture
- Ethnic divisions in the region remain stark.
- Gone are the gray industrial carpeting and the stark white walls.
- the stark beauty of the desert
- The waiting room was stark, with hard, stiff chairs and lit by a single lightbulb.
- As a nation, we are right to finally confront the stark reality of needless suffering among the dying.
- Her apartment was clean and stark in a Straight forward way.
- It was how I'd always imagined showbiz would be - far removed from the stark reality of Working Men's Clubs.
- Once or twice, soft stark footfalls went along the corridor.
- Others are put off by the stark social and economic differences between the two communities.
- The contrast between the lawyer and Scott was stark.
- They were stark dramas of the billion-footed city.
- This is in stark contrast to the fifties and sixties when loan capital formed an important part of corporate financing needs.
THESAURUS
without anything added, or without decoration: · a plain shirt· The fireplace was plain apart from a small design at the top.
not having a lot of decoration or unnecessary things, but attractive: · She was wearing a simple black dress.· The accommodation is simple but clean.
very plain and with very little decoration, or very little in it – used about a room or place that does not make you feel welcome: · He dreaded having dinner in that austere dining room.· The building was grey and a little austere.· the austere beauty and grandeur of mountain scenery
plain and without anything that would make life easier or more comfortable – used especially about rooms, conditions, or ways of living: · Her apartment is quite spartan.· They had a very spartan life.
very plain in a surprising way, with very little colour or decoration – used about rooms and places: · Sam sat looking at the stark white walls.· It is a landscape of stark beauty.
empty, or not covered by any decorations: · Her office seemed very bare now that her desk had gone.· He was tired of looking at the bare walls of his prison cell.
Longman Language Activatornot having a lot of decoration or things added: simple food, clothes, or designs do not have a lot of decoration or unnecessary things added, but they are usually attractive or enjoyable: · She wore a simple black dress.· The meal was simple, but delicious.
: plain food, clothes, or designs do not have anything added or any decoration, and may be a little boring: · He put the letter in a plain brown envelope.· Do you have any plain white shirts?· The chapel was a small, plain, white-washed building.
: basic food, rooms, or designs only have the necessary features, and do not include things that make them more comfortable, more attractive etc : · Some of the hotels in the mountains are pretty basic.· The basic model costs £30,000, which includes insurance and car tax.· basic cooking utensils
a room or building that is austere is not decorated, has very little and very plain furniture, and is usually uncomfortable: · Students ate in an austere hall built by New England Puritans.· The crematorium chapel was cold and austere.
spartan conditions or ways of living are simple and without any comfort: · The accommodation is pretty spartan, so take extra blankets and bedding.· It was a spartan existence, with no running water or electricity.
something, especially a room, that has a stark appearance has no decorations and looks uncomfortable: · The waiting room was stark, with hard, stiff chairs and lit by a single lightbulb.· stark chrome furniture
the attractive quality of being simple, and not having a lot of decoration or things added: · The jacket follows the lines of the body with graceful simplicity.· Van Gogh was attracted to the beauty and simplicity of a common table or kitchen chair.
informal plain or simple with nothing special or unnecessary added: · The Lodge is nothing fancy -- just a row of cottages huddled on the side of a hill overlooking the sea. · This was his favourite meal. Nothing fancy, just steak and salad.
a no-frills shop, restaurant, or service provides only the things that you really need and nothing else: · The meeting was held at a no-frills hotel 30 minutes from corporate headquarters. · Try the smaller, no-frills airlines for cheap late flights.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The extreme poverty of the local people is in stark contrast to the wealth of the tourists. We are faced with a stark choice. a stark reminder of life under Communist ruleCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES My friends all think I’m stark raving mad (=completely crazy).
The extreme poverty of the local people is in stark contrast to the wealth of the tourists. We are faced with a stark choice. a stark reminder of life under Communist rule (=a choice between two unpleasant things that you must make)· We faced a stark choice: steal or starve.
(=very great)· There is a sharp contrast between the type of people who read the two newspapers.
· The mountains stand in stark contrast to the area around them.
· We are still getting some sun, in marked contrast to last year’s everlasting grey skies.
My friends all think I’m stark raving mad (=completely crazy). also buck naked/naked as a jaybird American English (=completely naked)
(=conditions that are really very bad)· We want to protect our children from the harsh reality of our violent world.
(=strong or unpleasant)· This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers police officers face every day.
(=extreme terror)· On his face was an expression of absolute terror.
· Cigarette packets carry the stark warning ‘smoking kills’.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Over the 1960s the issue became more stark as the underlying position of visible trade worsened.· Since these speeches were meant to be heard, not read, they seem more stark in print than they sounded.· The contrast across the channel couldn't be more stark.· The following day took me over more stark hills and across empty plains and plateaux.· The contrast in styles could hardly have been more stark.· The contrast could not be more stark between Spiro's Hollywood life-style and the North London suburb he once called home.
· He looked around the room where she had spent much of the last few years. So stark.· At Carville, things were not quite so stark.· In front of a consequence so stark the deepest political thinkers recoiled.· It was the first time college basketball had witnessed so stark a racial contrast in a national final.· In Theophile's case, however, the choice was not nearly so stark.· The challenge for us is not so stark.
NOUN· Those who lived had a stark choice, submit, or ... flee into exile.· The case presents a stark choice for the justices.· They think stark choices are dangerous.· N., we would face more and more often the stark choice between acting alone and doing nothing.· The campaign would not be about personalities, he stressed, but about the stark choice between internationalism and nationalism.· To present such stark choices on one's own, rather than in a formal Intervention, is commonly ineffective.· In short, things would get worse, leaving a stark choice between civil war or martial law.
· It was a human approach to football management in stark contrast to conditions beyond the boundaries of Arsenal Stadium.· The kids are mostly minorities; their bleak, impoverished lives stand in stark contrast to the mansions on their maps.· They're in stark contrast to an earlier picture he'd rather forget.· The differing tactics present a stark contrast.· His white teeth and brown oval eyes stood out in stark contrast against his dark tanned skin.· Is that not in stark contrast to Labour Members who trade on the squalor and misery of people who are not housed?· This is in stark contrast to the fifties and sixties when loan capital formed an important part of corporate financing needs.· This stark contrast is not invention, but it is none the less unhistorical.
· For Budhoo deals in cold, stark facts.· The photograph only records stark fact.· The stark facts are spelt out in a recent copy of the Independent.· They had access to the starker facts.· There were no condolences, no flowery words, nothing but stark fact, not even the normal ending.
· It was how I'd always imagined showbiz would be - far removed from the stark reality of Working Men's Clubs.· As a nation, we are right to finally confront the stark reality of needless suffering among the dying.· Faced with the stark reality of a choice between jobs or no jobs, the majority had elected to work.· But the stark reality of the Highland scene described reminds me of another idyllic circumstance that went the rounds about this time.
· The debt relief campaign throws into stark relief the central contradiction of globalisation: it is to do with time.· In the darkness the angular planes of his face were thrown into stark relief.· Somewhere below another flare exploded, its fresh glare lighting up in stark relief the yawning edge of the aircraft.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1very plain in appearance, with little or no colour or decoration: - All of this doesn't mean he wasn't stark raving mad, and just putting on.
In the cold dawn light, the castle looked stark and forbidding. the stark beauty of New Mexico2unpleasantly clear and impossible to avoid SYN harsh: The movie shows the stark realities of life in the ghetto. The extreme poverty of the local people is in stark contrast to the wealth of the tourists. We are faced with a stark choice. a stark reminder of life under Communist rule—starkly adverb—starkness noun [uncountable]