Crossword Genius

Bare lead ending in shock (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stark

'bare' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lead ending in shock' is the wordplay.
'lead' becomes 'star' (I've seen this before).
'ending in' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'shock' is 'k'.
'star'+'k'='STARK'

(Other definitions for stark that I've seen before include "Blunt; grim" , "Unclothed - unvarnished" , "stern" , "Severe; sharply clear" , "Severely simple" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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