austere
severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding: an austere teacher.
rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent: the austere quality of life in the convent.
grave; sober; solemn; serious: an austere manner.
without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe: an austere life.
severely simple; without ornament: austere writing.
rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
Origin of austere
1synonym study For austere
Opposites for austere
Other words from austere
- aus·tere·ly, adverb
- aus·tere·ness, noun
- un·aus·tere, adjective
- un·aus·tere·ly, adverb
Words Nearby austere
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use austere in a sentence
Quirky boom-and-bust mining towns, austere desert scenery, and the wooded mountains of the Gila National Forest are all part of this byway that loops through the varied terrain of southern New Mexico.
In some ways, the Olympics that Japan is hosting now will have the feel of the 1948 Games — austere, but for obviously different reasons.
Three years after WWII ended, Japan was still technically an enemy — and banned from the London Games | Michael Rosenwald | July 23, 2021 | Washington PostPerhaps unsurprisingly, much of that resistance came from within the dance world itself, and had more to do with breaking those austere traditions than with the politics of LGBTQ activism.
Legendary dance troupe takes spotlight in ‘Ballerina Boys’ doc | John Paul King | June 2, 2021 | Washington BladeThere are austere pieces, notably Amy Finkelstein’s photo of a striking abstract collage.
In the galleries: Images focus on the future of the planet | Mark Jenkins | May 28, 2021 | Washington PostThe tension between austere geometric forms and random natural shapes has long been central to the artist’s style.
In the galleries: Images focus on the future of the planet | Mark Jenkins | May 28, 2021 | Washington Post
The cells are austere—essentially hardened trailers—that cost about $40,000 each to build.
The site is not unlike North Korea itself: austere and more than a little bit dated-looking.
Multi-story hotel towers stand stripped of any ornamentation, and seem almost Soviet in their austere and honest decay.
“It looks spare and austere, but we spent 1,000 hours creating these,” Snoeren said.
Viktor & Rolf’s Return to Couture for Fall 2013: Going Zen | Liza Foreman | July 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe designs were meant to be “stark” and “austere,” the designers said, and there were no straight seams in the creations.
Viktor & Rolf’s Return to Couture for Fall 2013: Going Zen | Liza Foreman | July 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe sedateness of his deportment and the apparent regularity of his life delighted austere moralists.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayMadame Torvestad, with an austere and imperious aspect, sat in her place; many gazed at her, but she maintained her composure.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandHence those great devotions, those austere retreats from the world, of which some of them have given an example.
Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, filsThese are the followers of Levana, the austere goddess who takes up the new-born babe and perfects it by sorrow.
Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile GautierThis type became more and more rigid and austere as the gathering shadows of the Dark Ages mantled on the minds of men.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
British Dictionary definitions for austere
/ (ɒˈstɪə) /
stern or severe in attitude or manner: an austere schoolmaster
grave, sober, or serious: an austere expression
self-disciplined, abstemious, or ascetic: an austere life
severely simple or plain: an austere design
Origin of austere
1Derived forms of austere
- austerely, adverb
- austereness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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