stark
Severe; violent; fierceSevere; violent; fierce (now usually in describing the weather).
» Have you gone stark raving mad?
Meaning
7 sensesSevere; violent; fierce (now usually in describing the weather).
streng, gewaltig
Stiff, rigid.
steif, fest, hart
Plain in appearance; barren, desolate.
I picked my way forlornly through the stark, sharp rocks.
Naked.
Complete, absolute, full.
I screamed in stark terror.
A flower was growing, in stark contrast, out of the sidewalk.
völlig, ganz, total
complete or extreme
(obsolete)Hard, firm; obdurate.
(archaic, literary, poetic)Strong; vigorous; powerful.
Examples
41 sentencesHave you gone stark raving mad?
Has everyone gone stark-raving mad?
Tom was standing there stark naked.
Tom has gone stark raving mad.
Tom was stark naked.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 3
Origin
From Middle English stark, starc, from Old English stearc, starc (“stiff, rigid, unyieldinFrom Middle English stark, starc, from Old English stearc, starc (“stiff, rigid, unyielding, obstinate, hard, strong, severe, violent”), from Proto-West Germanic *stark, from Proto-Germanic *starkuz (“stiff, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terg- (“rigid, stiff”).
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Forms
starker, starkestSynonyms
23 synonymsWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
Collocations
3 patterns- stark raving raving
- stark raving
- stark naked