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
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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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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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of stark
This flurry of online activity stood in stark contrast to the radio silence from law enforcement.
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Aja Romano, Vox, 11 Nov. 2024
There’s no reason to believe that Trump, despite election night promises to bridge the nation’s stark conflicts, will not continue using California as a punching bag during his second stint as president.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
The stark divisions in the country often played out just feet apart at Michigan precincts.
—Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Recent surveys paint a stark picture of election anxiety seeping into office life.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stark 
Aja Romano, Vox, 11 Nov. 2024
There’s no reason to believe that Trump, despite election night promises to bridge the nation’s stark conflicts, will not continue using California as a punching bag during his second stint as president.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
The stark divisions in the country often played out just feet apart at Michigan precincts.
—Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Recent surveys paint a stark picture of election anxiety seeping into office life.
—Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for stark
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stark
Adjective
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Nevertheless, many in Ukraine have displayed a determined — if perhaps grim — realpolitik at the man holding the purse strings of their military rearguard action.Alexander Smith, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024
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Despite the grim visuals, hope seems always to be on Weems’s mind.Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The sheer scale of phones used in the study let the researchers correct individual bias by comparing the devices against each other.Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 13 Nov. 2024
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The sheer number of cyclists snarled traffic and prompted restrictions by the city's tourism-hungry officials, who had encouraged them to come.Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The medication has hallucinogenic effects that alter the perception of sight and sound and cause users to feel devoid from pain and out of control of their surroundings.Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2023
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That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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The rolling hills of Laikipia, located on the equator, give way to the vast, desolate sand dunes of the Suguta Valley below, before lakes flooded with flamingos come into view.Shaun Stanley, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2024
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Pedro Páramo, which is considered one of the two frontrunners to represent Mexico at the Academy Awards, transports its audience to Comala, where a desolate Mexican town hauntingly blurs the lines between life and death.Travis Bean, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The dynamic between Callum and tracker Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), meanwhile, is your classic buddy-cop back-and-forth, with the gruff Callum slowly warming to the disreputable criminal he’s forced to partner up with when Santa gets kidnapped two days before Christmas.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2024
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Keaton dove into the part, adjusting his posture and affecting a gruff voice with a hint of New York–ese.Esther Zuckerman, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Both measures required a simple majority for passage.Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
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Since the summer of 2015, there has been a simple and basic question: Is Trump fit to be president, in mind and character?Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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To the empty wok, add the remaining vegetable oil, the garlic, ginger, and scallions and stir-fry until fragrant, 30–60 seconds.Lois Goh, Saveur, 13 Nov. 2024
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There were cigarettes on the bar, empty glasses on the back tables, and only a dozen guests left at Sid Gold’s Request Room.Curbed Staff, Curbed, 6 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The result is a barren playa, wide swaths of sand and earth.Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 28 Oct. 2024
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In his latest novel, Annihilation, his protagonists wander through that barren world, disoriented, looking vainly for an exit.Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near stark
Cite this Entry
“Stark.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stark. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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