austere

American  

[aw-steer] / ɔˈstɪər /

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.

   Antonyms:

   sybaritic, lush, comfortable, luxurious

5. severely simple; without ornament.

   austere writing.

6. rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.

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austere British  

/ ɒˈstɪə /

adjective

1. stern or severe in attitude or manner

   an austere schoolmaster

2. grave, sober, or serious

   an austere expression

3. self-disciplined, abstemious, or ascetic

   an austere life

4. severely simple or plain

   an austere design

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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. 

Related Words

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

• austerely adverb
• austereness noun
• unaustere adjective
• unausterely adverb

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.

Example Sentences

He was brought up in Protestantism, to which was often attributed his austere demeanour, but gave up religion in his teens.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

According to the location scouts, the success of such austere settings lies in their aesthetic, practical and economic value.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

“Mise en place,” French for everything in its place, sounds austere, but the practice itself is anything but.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025

The grim economic outlook means that for many Palestinian Christians, even though there are now public events as well as religious services, it will be an austere Christmas.

From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025

Repetitive, rhythmic, regular, austere, this was a conveyer belt of a chemical, the nylon of the biochemical world.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• exacting
• forbidding
• formal
• rigid
• sober
• somber
• stringent