Definition of "stark" []

• Bare or blunt: "His language has become increasingly stark, to the point of sounding strident” ( Robert Pear). (adjective)
• Complete or utter; extreme: stark poverty; a stark contrast. (adjective)
• Harsh; grim: "faced with that stark future” ( Robert C. McFarlane). "[They] found it hard to accept such a stark portrait of unrelieved failure” ( W. Bruce Lincoln). (adjective)
• Utterly; entirely: stark raving mad. (adverb)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "She heard the slide of his zipper and her heart seized, the pulse skittering in her throat as she gazed up at his hungry face, his expression stark and pained."
• "His expression stark, he admitted, “Just two nights ago, I…I almost strangled her to death while I slept.”"
• "Stepping closer, Worf appraised her with an expression of stark admiration."