1
as in grim
harsh and threatening in manner or appearance
stark and forbidding mountains that the settlers knew that they would have to cross
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sheer
having no exceptions or restrictions
the school's stark prohibition against obscene slogans on clothing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in devoid
lacking contents that could or should be present
house buyers trying to imagine what those stark rooms would look like when filled with furniture
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
a once-lush landscape rendered depressingly stark by strip-mining and deforestation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in spartan
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stark
Russia under Vladimir Putin provides the starkest example.
—
Cassandra Burke Robertson, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2025
While locations like a solar panel farm in the Australian outback fit the bill for near-future ground war, the result mostly feels sterile, amounting to a bunch of empty pathways bathed in stark daylight.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
In stark contrast to buyers, home sellers remain moderately optimistic.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The disconnect between Bishnoi the gangster and Bishnoi the child is starkest in his home village, where residents struggle to reconcile the two.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stark
Cassandra Burke Robertson, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2025
While locations like a solar panel farm in the Australian outback fit the bill for near-future ground war, the result mostly feels sterile, amounting to a bunch of empty pathways bathed in stark daylight.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
In stark contrast to buyers, home sellers remain moderately optimistic.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The disconnect between Bishnoi the gangster and Bishnoi the child is starkest in his home village, where residents struggle to reconcile the two.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stark
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stark
Adjective
-
Unlike the grim feeling around schools like Florida, everyone here desperately wants Venables to be the right guy.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Jill Biden, meanwhile, is portrayed as a grim figure.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Or does the sheer scale of the challenge demand the capacity, availability and rock-bottom prices that only established Chinese suppliers can provide?—
Andrew Saunders,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
-
While the bans would have only applied in California, the state’s sheer size gives it significant influence over what gets manufactured for sale across the nation.—
Rachel Frazin,
The Hill,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
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That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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To find the killer, Sherlock Holmes and Watson will have to brave desolate moors before a family curse dooms the newest heirs.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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With its primary tenant away, the pro stadium here in central Japan was desolate outside.—
Brad Lefton,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Made the short walk back down the hill, sat in the spartan dorm room that was my home for the next nine months.—
Sarah Chamberlain,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
-
With ski season only a few weeks away, the Vail Pass rest area reopened to the public on Tuesday with a bigger, better building that replaced a spartan structure built in 1980.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Both are ruggedly handsome, gruff and not short on ego.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
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Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Strufe adds that while intelligence agencies or cybercriminals have simpler ways to monitor people – such as accessing CCTV cameras or video doorbells – the widespread presence of wireless networks could eventually form a near-comprehensive surveillance infrastructure.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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The simplest way to find influential people in a network is called degree centrality—just count the number of connections for each person.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Current school board President Kareem Moncree-Moffett, longtime member Brandon Craig and Jim Crosset, appointed last year to fill an empty seat left by Mike Moroski, make up the incumbents running for reelection.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
13 Oct. 2025
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Sean Kuraly sealed the win by hitting an empty net with three seconds left in the game.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stark.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stark. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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