stark
stark / stärk/ • adj. 1. severe or bare in appearance or outline: the ridge formed a stark silhouette against the sky. ∎ unpleasantly or sharply clear; impossible to avoid: his position on civil rights is in stark contrast to that of his liberal opponent the stark reality of life for deprived minorities.2. complete; sheer: he came running back in stark terror. ∎ rare completely naked.3. archaic or poetic/lit. stiff, rigid, or incapable of movement: a human body lying stiff and stark by the stream. ∎ physically strong or powerful: the dragoons were stark fellows.PHRASES: stark naked completely naked.stark raving mad inf. completely crazy.DERIVATIVES: stark·ly adv. the reality is starkly different.stark·ness n.
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stark
