stark

1 harsh and threatening in manner or appearance stark and forbidding mountains that the settlers knew that they would have to cross Synonyms austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, gruff, intimidating, lowering (also louring), rough, rugged, severe, grim, steely, stern, ungentleRelated Words 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 (or wilful); immutable, unchangeable; black, cheerless, dark, gloomy, glum, joyless, melancholic, moody, morose, sulky, sullen, surly; brooding, grave, humorless, melancholy, serious, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber (or sombre), staid, unsmiling, weightyNear Antonyms 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, sillyAntonyms benign, benignant, gentle, mild, nonintimidating, tender

2 having no exceptions or restrictions the school's stark prohibition against obscene slogans on clothing Synonyms all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, absolute, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, veryRelated Words 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, terrificNear Antonyms 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 Synonyms bare, blank, clean, devoid, empty, toom [chiefly Scottish], vacant, vacuous, voidRelated Words barren, hollow; available, clear, free, open; unfilled, unfurnished; unattended, uninhabited, unoccupied; abandoned, deserted, emptied, forsaken, vacated; depleted, drained, dry, exhaustedNear Antonyms complete; replete; furnished, provided, supplied; filled, occupied; flush, overflowing, packed, teemingAntonyms full

4 producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation a once-lush landscape rendered depressingly stark by strip-mining and deforestation Synonyms bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, barren, unfertile, unproductive, wasteRelated Words 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 (also sear), thirsty, waterless; baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbakedNear Antonyms arable, tillable; green, sylvan, verdantAntonyms fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich

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 Synonyms austere, spartan, no-frillsRelated Words plain, simple, unadorned, undecorated, unelaborate, unfancyNear Antonyms adorned, decorated, elaborate, fancyAntonyms deluxe, Lucullan (also Lucullian), luxe, luxurious, plush