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sternness

 - 4 dictionary results

stern

1  [sturn] ,
Use sternness in a Sentence
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. firm, strict, or uncompromising: stern discipline.
2. hard, harsh, or severe: a stern reprimand.
3. rigorous or austere; of an unpleasantly serious character: stern times.
4. grim or forbidding in aspect: a stern face.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE styrne

Related forms:
sternly, adverb
sternness, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. adamant, unrelenting, unsympathetic, cruel, unfeeling. 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 Stern implies uncompromising, inflexible firmness, and sometimes a hard, forbidding, or withdrawn aspect or nature: a stern parent.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.

Antonyms:
1. lenient.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sternness
stern 1   (stûrn)   
adj.   stern·er, stern·est

  1. Hard, harsh, or severe in manner or character: a stern disciplinarian. See Synonyms at severe.

  2. Grim, gloomy, or forbidding in appearance or outlook.

  3. Firm or unyielding; uncompromising.

  4. Inexorable; relentless: stern necessity.


[Middle English sterne, from Old English styrne; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
stern'ly adv., stern'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
stern

  1. n.
    the posterior; buttocks. : The little airplane crashed right into the stern of an enormous lady who didn't even notice.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

stern  (adj.)
O.E. styrne "severe, strict," from P.Gmc. *sternijaz (cf. M.H.G. sterre, Ger. starr "stiff," störrig "obstinate;" Goth. andstaurran "to be stiff;" O.N. stara; O.E. starian "to look or gaze upon"), from PIE base *ster-, *star- "be rigid" (see sterile).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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