austere
Americanadjective
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severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding.
an austere teacher.
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rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent.
the austere quality of life in the convent.
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grave; sober; solemn; serious.
an austere manner.
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without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe.
an austere life.
- Antonyms:
- sybaritic, lush, comfortable, luxurious
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severely simple; without ornament.
austere writing.
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rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
adjective
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stern or severe in attitude or manner
an austere schoolmaster
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grave, sober, or serious
an austere expression
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self-disciplined, abstemious, or ascetic
an austere life
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severely simple or plain
an austere design
Usage
What does austere mean? Austere most commonly means extremely stern or strict or without any frills or luxuries. Things that are described as austere are serious, harsh, or severely simple. The word is especially used to describe a state of extreme self-discipline or minimalistic living, such as the austere conditions in a monastery. Think of a monk who lives in a bedroom with only a metal cot and eats plain rice every day—that’s an austere lifestyle. The noun form of austere is austerity—the state of being austere. Example: You can’t expect people to cope with such austere conditions—they need more than the bare necessities.
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of austere
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin austērus, from Greek austērós “harsh, rough, bitter”
Explanation
The adjective austere is used to describe something or someone stern or without any decoration. You wouldn't want someone to describe you or your home as austere. Austere is not usually a positive word because it means that a person or a thing isn't pleasurable. For example, if you go on an austere diet, it's likely you wouldn't ever get to have candy. The adjective comes into English by way of French, Latin, and Greek, meaning "harsh" and "dry." It's pronounced as "ah-STEER," with an emphasis on the second syllable.
Vocabulary lists containing austere
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From her earliest years, Emily thrilled to the austere glories of the landscape, with its great desolate stretches of rocky turf and rushing waterways all shaped and pummeled by winds that whistled and “wuthered.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
By contrast, “Shard II” is austere and cinematic, with Mr. Gilmore’s tom-toms—both live and reproduced—gently underpinning bucolic keyboards from Mr. Moran.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
"Her success rested on a careful balance: projecting herself as both an uncompromising street fighter and an austere, maternal figure delivering welfare to those living with economic insecurity," says Proma Raychaudhury of Krea University.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
He has made a name for himself in Texas conservative circles as the architect behind the formation of a handful of small towns with austere — nearly nonexistent — local governments.
From Salon • May 3, 2026
Its austere emptiness made her nervous; she wished he had pictures or books or Russian dolls that she could look at.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
