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View synonyms for stern

stern

1

[ sturn ]

adjective

, stern·er, stern·est.
  1. firm, strict, or uncompromising:

    stern discipline.

    Synonyms: unsympathetic, unfeeling, cruel, unrelenting, adamant

    Antonyms: lenient

  2. hard, harsh, or severe:

    a stern reprimand.

    Synonyms: unsympathetic, cruel, unrelenting, adamant, unfeeling

  3. rigorous or austere; of an unpleasantly serious character:

    stern times.

  4. grim or forbidding in aspect:

    a stern face.



stern

2

[ sturn ]

noun

  1. the after or rear part of a vessel (often opposed to bow or stem ):

    The ship's stern was a glory of brightly painted carved figures of knights and mythical beasts.

  2. the back or rear of anything.
  3. Stern, Astronomy. the constellation Puppis.
  4. Fox Hunting. the tail of a hound.

verb (used with or without object)

  1. to be the person paddling, steering, working, etc., at the rear of (a vessel):

    When you're bird-watching, it's much better to be paddling up front than sterning the canoe.

  2. to propel or steer (a vessel) with the after or rear part leading:

    We pulled up to the dock 15 minutes later and managed to stern in before dark.

Stern

3

[ sturn ]

noun

  1. Isaac, 1920–2001, U.S. violinist, born in Russia.
  2. Otto, 1888–1969, U.S. physicist, born in Germany: Nobel Prize 1943.

stern-

4
  1. variant of sterno- before a vowel:

    sternite.

stern

1

/ stɜːn /

noun

  1. the rear or after part of a vessel, opposite the bow or stem
  2. the rear part of any object
  3. the tail of certain breeds of dog, such as the foxhound or beagle


adjective

  1. relating to or located at the stern

Stern

2

/ stɜːn /

noun

  1. SternIsaac19202001MUSRussianMUSIC: concert violinist Isaac. 1920–2001, US concert violinist, born in (what is now) Ukraine

stern

3

/ stɜːn /

adjective

  1. showing uncompromising or inflexible resolve; firm, strict, or authoritarian
  2. lacking leniency or clemency; harsh or severe
  3. relentless; unyielding

    the stern demands of parenthood

  4. having an austere or forbidding appearance or nature

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Derived Forms

  • ˈsternness, noun
  • ˈsternly, adverb

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Other Words From

  • stern·ly adverb
  • stern·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of stern1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English styrne

Origin of stern2

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sterne, probably from Old Norse stjōrn “steering” ( sternpost )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of stern1

C13: from Old Norse stjōrn steering; see steer 1

Origin of stern2

Old English styrne; related to Old High German stornēn to alarm, Latin sternāx stubborn, Greek stereos hard

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Idioms and Phrases

see from soup to nuts (stem to stern) .

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Synonym Study

Stern, severe, harsh agree in referring to methods, aspects, manners, or facial expressions. Stern implies uncompromising, inflexible firmness, and sometimes a hard, forbidding, or withdrawn aspect or nature: a stern parent. Severe implies strictness, lack of sympathy, and a tendency to impose a hard discipline on others: a severe judge. Harsh suggests a great severity and roughness, and cruel, unfeeling treatment of others: a harsh critic.

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Example Sentences

Only hours after tug boats had initially wrenched the stern free, some news outlets reported that strong winds had blown it back to its stuck position across the 205-meter southern section of the canal.

From Time

That disruption appears to have caused the ship to become wedged sideways across the canal, with its bow pressed against the eastern wall and its stern wedged into the canal’s western wall.

Stern said he and fellow legislators wanted public access to all agency documents restored.

They may not even need a host star at all, Stern writes, and could exist on wandering planets ejected from their systems.

In his report, Stern suggests interior ocean worlds have several advantages over exterior ocean worlds, and therefore, if they’re common, it’s far less likely we are alone in the universe—but also, it might be a lot harder to prove the case.

He opens up to Marlow Stern about music, Hollywood, and more.

Buress went on The Howard Stern Show to talk about the Cosby story.

But at the end of the day, as a governor, you have to be stern and there are decisions you have to make.

I like to end columns with a potential policy fix, some kind of suggested action, or at least a stern finger-wagging.

After a stern media backlash, Dunham decided to pay her opening acts and, predictably, all was forgiven.

He had meted out stern justice to his own son, when he had banished big Reginald to South America; but he had his virtues.

Her stern was towards him, and all he saw of her was the ironical legend, “Cure your Corns.”

As it came near, it proved to be the clock, with a sail hoisted, and the Goblin sitting complacently in the stern.

As he read, a look of surprise came over his face, and then his countenance grew stern and grim.

As Louis spoke with the stern calmness of a divorced heart, Wharton became other than he had ever seen him.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Sterlitamaksternal