austere
[ aw-steer ]
/ ɔˈstɪər /
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adjective
severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding: an austere teacher.
rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent: the austere quality of life in the convent.
grave; sober; solemn; serious: an austere manner.
without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe: an austere life.
severely simple; without ornament: austere writing.
rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
OPPOSITES FOR austere
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Origin of austere
1300–50; Middle English (<Anglo-French ) <Latin austērus<Greek austērós harsh, rough, bitter
synonym study for austere
4. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM austere
aus·tere·ly, adverbaus·tere·ness, nounun·aus·tere, adjectiveun·aus·tere·ly, adverbDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use austere in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for austere
austere
/ (ɒˈstɪə) /
adjective
stern or severe in attitude or manneran austere schoolmaster
grave, sober, or seriousan austere expression
self-disciplined, abstemious, or ascetican austere life
severely simple or plainan austere design
Derived forms of austere
austerely, adverbaustereness, nounWord Origin for austere
C14: from Old French austère, from Latin austērus sour, from Greek austēros astringent; related to Greek hauein to dry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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