Nearby Words
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.
5.
EXPANDseverely simple; without ornament: austere writing.
6.
lacking softness; hard: an austere bed of straw.
7.
COLLAPSErough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin austērus < Greek austērós harsh, rough, bitter
1300–50; Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin austērus < Greek austērós harsh, rough, bitter
Related forms
aus·tere·ly, adverb
aus·tere·ness, noun
un·aus·tere, adjective
un·aus·tere·ly, adverb
Synonyms
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.
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.
Antonyms
4. luxurious, comfortable, lush; sybaritic.
4. luxurious, comfortable, lush; sybaritic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Austereness
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
austere
early 14c., from L. austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart," from Gk. austeros "bitter, harsh," especially "making the tongue dry" (originally used of fruits, wines), related to auos "dry," auein "to dry" (see aurora). Use in English is figurative: "stern, severe, very simple."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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