Entry Word: stark

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 harsh and threatening in manner or appearance <stark and forbidding mountains that the settlers knew that they would have to cross> — see grim 1
2 having no exceptions or restrictions <the schoolʼs stark prohibition against obscene slogans on clothing> — see absolute 2
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> — see empty 1
4 producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation <a once-lush landscape rendered depressingly stark by strip-mining and deforestation> — see barren 1