Starkly

adv

adv ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    In a stark manner; with great contrast.

    "The dark mountains stood out starkly against the pale sky."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in a blunt manner wordnet
  2. 2
    in sharp outline or contrast wordnet
  3. 3
    in a stark manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
apparentlyclearclearlyconspicuouslydefinitelydistinctly

Example

More examples

"Ziri took Rima aside and starkly asked her what she was doing there."

Etymology

From Middle English starkli, starcliche, sterkliche, stercliche, from Old English stearclīċe (“strongly; stoutly; vigorously; vehemently; fiercely; strictly”), from Proto-Germanic *starkulīka (“strongly; stiffly”), from *starkulīkaz (“strong; rigid”), from *starkuz (“strong; stiff; stark”), equivalent to stark + -ly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.