Definition

Noun: 1. The quality of being bare, plain, or severely simple, often to the point of being harsh or bleak. It refers to an extreme lack of decoration, comfort, or features. 2. The quality of being complete, utter, or extreme; unmitigated harshness or severity. It refers to something being sharply and unmistakably clear, often in an unpleasant or uncompromising way.

Usage Examples

• Referring to physical bareness:
  • The starkness of the landscape, with its endless grey rocks and not a single tree, was both beautiful and intimidating.
  • The architect favored clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic, resulting in a certain starkness in his designs.
• Referring to abstract severity or clarity:
  • The report highlighted the starkness of the economic divide between the two regions.
  • He was shocked by the starkness of the doctor's diagnosis.

Advanced Usage

• "in starkness": Used to emphasize how clearly or severely something is revealed.
  • The two photographs, placed side by side, showed in starkness how much the forest had degraded.
• "the starkness of the contrast/comparison/choice": A common collocation emphasizing how sharply different two things are.
  • The documentary captured the starkness of the contrast between wealth and poverty in the city.

Variants and Related Words

• Stark (adjective): The root adjective.
  • The room was stark and empty. (physically bare)
  • That is a stark reminder of our failure. (harshly clear)
• Starkly (adverb): In a stark manner.
  • The data starkly illustrates the problem.

Synonyms

• Bareness: The state of being not covered or decorated.
• Austerity: Sternness or severity of manner or practice; plainness.
• Severity: The fact or condition of being severe.
• Bluntness: The quality of being uncompromisingly direct.
• Desolation: A state of complete emptiness or destruction.

Antonyms

• Ornateness: The quality of being highly decorated.
• Luxury: The state of great comfort and extravagant living.
• Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes.
• Ambiguity: The quality of being open to more than one interpretation.

Noun

1. an extreme lack of furnishings or ornamentation
   • I was struck by the starkness of my father's room
2. the quality of being complete or utter or extreme
   • the starkness of his contrast between justice and fairness was open to many objections