adverb

• 1In a way that is severe or harsh in appearance or outline.

  ‘the scar stood out starkly against his bronzed skin’

  More example sentences

  • ‘a starkly lit warehouse’
  • ‘This enthralling scene unfolds against a starkly white sky.’
  • ‘They began using colour expressively, rather than to define space on the canvas, painting starkly simplified landscapes in brilliant colours.’
  • ‘The most graphic and abstract of the works on display had predominantly white images starkly silhouetted against dark backgrounds.’
  • ‘Narrow decks with ship-like railings look down on a starkly plain, half-moon courtyard, empty except for two dead trees.’
  • ‘A delicate paper triptych used pencil and blood to define three starkly outlined, centralized flowers.’

  1. 1.1In an unpleasantly or sharply clear way.
     ‘her motivations contrast starkly with Clara's’
     More example sentences

     • ‘their ordeal starkly illustrates an inescapable reality’
     • ‘the class divisions of the country were starkly revealed’
     • ‘The company's hardball approach has starkly highlighted the way America's tobacco politics have come to Britain.’
     • ‘They are singing their praises for the starkly dualistic moral judgements that have defined this administration's foreign policy.’
     • ‘She had written Nin a starkly honest letter in which she revealed how important Nin's work was to her.’
     • ‘The growth of economic inequality has been starkly evident in the auto industry.’
     • ‘The government's capacity to respond to crises has been severely eroded, a fact that has emerged starkly in recent days.’