sternly
in a firm, strict, or austere way:Unless the government sternly cracks down on the underground economy, citizens will never pay their taxes diligently.
in a harsh, severe, or grim way:Any baker caught mixing sawdust with bread or butcher selling horse meat as beef was immediately and sternly punished.
Origin of sternly
1Words Nearby sternly
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sternly in a sentence
As a dogsledder, one of the biggest misconceptions I’ve encountered is that I must be made of sterner stuff than other people, or that I simply don’t mind being cold.
Stern wrote that the Justice seemed highly critical of “sweeping restrictions” the various governmental jurisdictions nationwide have implemented as they battle the pandemic.
Alito condemns Obergefell in Federalist Society Speech | Brody Levesque | November 13, 2020 | Washington BladeBorn near Auvergne, Stern didn’t learn about feminism growing up.
After that, Stern moved to Marseille, which is where she started gluing messages to walls.
A dose of federal cash from the CARES Act has helped Lawrence County, but a coming budget crunch in localities across the country — as Washington negotiations stall on another round of aid — will likely be Cramblit’s sternest test to come.
Or as her mother tells her, sternly, “You got to accept that life is full of disappointments.”
“The witness only thought that he had a sure thing,” the judge says sternly.
Every article on good divorce that I looked at sternly warned: “never disagree or argue in front of the children.”
My Good Divorce: How One Woman Found Happiness Separating | Priscilla Gilman | June 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAs your president,” Bush said sternly, “I guarantee you, this violence will end.
L.A. Riots Anniversary: 8 Infamous Videos | Brittany Jones-Cooper | April 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTInstead, she released a sternly worded statement and took off with her sons to a house in the country.
And now, almost without knowing it, he spoke sternly, and his dark face was full of condemnation.
Bella Donna | Robert Hichens“Let no one in,” said Longcluse sternly to the man, who locked the iron gate on their passing out.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuAs they there stand for a minute under the lamp, Mr. Longcluse, gazing at him sternly from the stair, caught his eye.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu"You must promise never again to leave without permission, or this is your last scout with me," said Harry, sternly.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnHere is a thing sternly condemned in the older thought as an economic impossibility.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
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