sternly

[ sturn-lee ]

adverb

1. in a firm, strict, or austere way:

   Unless the government sternly cracks down on the underground economy, citizens will never pay their taxes diligently.

2. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sternly¹

First recorded before 1000; stern ¹( def ) + -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

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.

From Outside Online

Stern wrote that the Justice seemed highly critical of “sweeping restrictions” the various governmental jurisdictions nationwide have implemented as they battle the pandemic.

From Washington Blade

Born near Auvergne, Stern didn’t learn about feminism growing up.

From Ozy

After that, Stern moved to Marseille, which is where she started gluing messages to walls.

From Ozy

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.

From Ozy

Or as her mother tells her, sternly, “You got to accept that life is full of disappointments.”

From The Daily Beast

“The witness only thought that he had a sure thing,” the judge says sternly.

From The Daily Beast

Every article on good divorce that I looked at sternly warned: “never disagree or argue in front of the children.”

From The Daily Beast

As your president,” Bush said sternly, “I guarantee you, this violence will end.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, she released a sternly worded statement and took off with her sons to a house in the country.

From The Daily Beast

And now, almost without knowing it, he spoke sternly, and his dark face was full of condemnation.

From Project Gutenberg

“Let no one in,” said Longcluse sternly to the man, who locked the iron gate on their passing out.

From Project Gutenberg

As they there stand for a minute under the lamp, Mr. Longcluse, gazing at him sternly from the stair, caught his eye.

From Project Gutenberg

"You must promise never again to leave without permission, or this is your last scout with me," said Harry, sternly.

From Project Gutenberg

Here is a thing sternly condemned in the older thought as an economic impossibility.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acutely
• badly
• critically
• dangerously
• extremely
• firmly
• markedly
• painfully
• seriously
• sharply
• sorely
• strictly