austere

[ aw-steer ]

/ ɔˈstɪər /

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.

lacking softness; hard: an austere bed of straw.

rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.

Nearby words

austenite, austenitic, austenitic stainless steel, austenitize, auster, austere, austerity, austerlitz, austin, austin flint murmur, austin friar

Origin of austere

1300–50; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin austērus < Greek austērós harsh, rough, bitter

ANTONYMS FOR austere

4 luxurious, comfortable, lush; sybaritic.

Related forms

aus·tere·ly, adverbaus·tere·ness, nounun·aus·tere, adjectiveun·aus·tere·ly, adverb

Synonym study

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for austerely

To her luxurious but austerely managed villa, Aunt Septima welcomed Brinnaria with heartfelt, if repressed affection.
The Unwilling Vestal|Edward Lucas White
"I was going to ask somebody that same question," I told him as austerely as I could manage.
The Golgotha Dancers|Manly Wade Wellman
The Chaplain-General received us, if not coldly, at least austerely.
The Great War As I Saw It|Frederick George Scott
Is not every word of it true—severely and austerely true,—but still true?
Letters to the Clergy|John Ruskin

"You meet a lot of fresh guys on trains," commented Mr Brown austerely.
The Little Warrior|P. G. Wodehouse

British Dictionary definitions for austerely

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

austerely, adverbaustereness, noun

Word 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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012