51Թ

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View synonyms for

austere

[aw-steer]

adjective

  1. severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding.

    an austere teacher.

  2. rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent.

    the austere quality of life in the convent.

  3. grave; sober; solemn; serious.

    an austere manner.

  4. without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe.

    an austere life.

    Antonyms: , , , ,
  5. severely simple; without ornament.

    austere writing.

  6. rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.



austere

/ ɒˈɪə /

adjective

  1. stern or severe in attitude or manner

    an austere schoolmaster

  2. grave, sober, or serious

    an austere expression

  3. self-disciplined, abstemious, or ascetic

    an austere life

  4. severely simple or plain

    an austere design

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • austerely adverb
  • austereness noun
  • unaustere adjective
  • unausterely adverb
  • ܲˈٱԱ noun
  • ܲˈٱ adverb
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of austere1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ܲŧܲ, from Greek ܲŧó “harsh, rough, bitter”
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of austere1

C14: from Old French ܲè, from Latin ܲŧܲ sour, from Greek ܲŧDz astringent; related to Greek hauein to dry
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Synonym Study

Austere, bleak, spartan, stark all suggest lack of ornament or adornment and of a feeling of comfort or warmth. Austere usually implies a purposeful avoidance of luxury or ease: simple, stripped-down, austere surroundings. Bleak adds a sense of forbidding coldness, hopelessness, depression: a bleak, dreary, windswept plain. Spartan, somewhat more forceful than austere, implies stern discipline and rigorous, even harsh, avoidance of all that is not strictly functional: a life of Spartan simplicity. Stark shares with bleak a sense of grimness and desolation: the stark cliff face.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Northridge says it was meant to have an “Eastern European socialist look, which is very functional, very austere.”

From

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily imposed laws and regulations that reflect its austere vision of Islamic law.

From

The walls of these rooms accomplish a kind of muting of her aura, a place where veneration feels austere or regimented by bureaucracy.

From

As the show opens, 10 dancers line up on either side of her, dressed in austere outfits that recall The Handmaid's Tale.

From

Sure, there were treats: my mom’s chocolate chip cookies on Friday nights, Chips Ahoy stashed in the pantry, those era-defining SnackWell’s packets in their austere green boxes.

From

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When To Use

What doesaustere mean?

Austere most commonly means extremely stern or strict or without any frills or luxuries.Things that are described as austere are serious, harsh, or severely simple.The word is especially used to describe a state of extreme self-discipline or minimalistic living, such as the austere conditions in a monastery. Think of a monk who lives in a bedroom with only a metal cot and eats plain rice every day—that’s an austere lifestyle.The noun form of austere is austerity—the state of being austere.Example: You can’t expect people to cope with such austere conditions—they need more than the bare necessities. 

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Austerausterity