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
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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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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stark
The attack was a stark example of the increase in political violence in the country.
—
NPR, 6 Nov. 2025
The level of luxury she’s introduced with Barracuda is a stark contrast to the humbler quarters generally associated with backpackers and itinerant surf bums, which still make up the majority of Itacaré’s lodging options.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Jarcovjáková, who has been dubbed the Nan Goldin of Czechoslovakia, captures stark and intimate images, revealing people through overexposed skin just as much as hiding them in shadow.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Nov. 2025
These arrests serve as a stark reminder of the dangers that social media can pose, and of the predators who hide behind social media applications, looking to exploit our youth and sell their fentanyl pills through digital connections.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stark
NPR, 6 Nov. 2025
The level of luxury she’s introduced with Barracuda is a stark contrast to the humbler quarters generally associated with backpackers and itinerant surf bums, which still make up the majority of Itacaré’s lodging options.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
Jarcovjáková, who has been dubbed the Nan Goldin of Czechoslovakia, captures stark and intimate images, revealing people through overexposed skin just as much as hiding them in shadow.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Nov. 2025
These arrests serve as a stark reminder of the dangers that social media can pose, and of the predators who hide behind social media applications, looking to exploit our youth and sell their fentanyl pills through digital connections.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stark
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stark
Adjective
-
That’s a grim prospect—but then, in Venezuela, yesterday’s grimmest prospects become tomorrow’s headlines with dreadful regularity.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Controversy follows Cheney While Cheney's disposition was never particularly sunny, critics assailed the vice president as a relentlessly grim figure.—
Don Gonyea,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Critics argue the ballroom's sheer scale—twice the size of the main residence—will fundamentally alter the White House's historic proportions and architectural balance.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The genocidal evil of the Nazis was, and is, often accorded a type of 'genius' - an idea that often persists in public discourse as a way to account for the sheer malice in the planning and execution of the Holocaust as something exceptional.—
NPR,
NPR,
11 Nov. 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
-
That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
The Irvines’ son died in the crash, and Peter used the cover of the most inexplicably desolate street in Chicago to switch his body for Carrie’s healthy son while the two women lay unconscious.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Almost always surrounded by bare, desolate mountains.—
Joe Baur,
Outside,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
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
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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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Patterson was hired in a guest role as the gruff diner owner with a heart of gold, Luke Danes.—
Anika Reed,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Burr plays a gruff American record-store owner who convinces a ragtag gang of teenage misfits that their best, and possibly only, chance to lose their virginity before graduating high school is at a massive open-air mass for the visiting Pope.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Past Future Continuous shifts focus from the act of leaving to the homes and land left behind — places that grow emptier over time.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The 2026 fest will improve upon this system by swapping out all tanks prior to guest arrival, so each system is fresh and empty at the start of the event.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stark.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stark. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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