Meaning

4 senses
  1. Grim or severe in manner or appearance.

    The headmistress was an austere old woman.

    стро́гийstrógij, суро́выйsuróvyj

  2. Lacking decoration; trivial; not extravagant or gaudy.

    The interior of the church was as austere as the parishioners were dour.

    schlicht, genügsam

    просто́йprostój, аскети́чныйasketíčnyj

  3. Adhering to the economic policy of austerity.

  4. Harsh; astringent.

More definitions
  • of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
  • severely simple
  • practicing great self-denial

Examples

5 sentences
  1. The president has promised a more austere administration than that of his predecessor.

    CC0 · Tatoeba · Cangarejo · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. Austere economic policies have significantly affected economic performance.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · The_World_Factbook · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. The Wadden Sea is a landscape of austere beauty.

    deDas Wattenmeer ist eine Landschaft von herber Schönheit.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. Ms. Eichler had a notorious reputation for being austere to her students.

    deFrau Eichler war für ihren Ruf bekannt, streng zu ihren Schülern zu sein.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Zifre · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. The Treasurer is being accused of robbing Peter to pay Paul to fund his austere budget.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · patgfisher · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

7 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
grim, stern, strict:
not extravagant:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
not extravagant:

Origin

From Ancient Greek αὐστηρός (austērós, “bitter, harsh, astringent”), having the specific m

From Ancient Greek αὐστηρός (austērós, “bitter, harsh, astringent”), having the specific meaning “making the tongue dry” (originally used of fruits, wines), related to αὔω (aúō, “to singe”), αὖος (aûos, “dry”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

austerer/more austere, austerest/most austere
Comparativeausterer / more austere Lesson
Superlativeausterest / most austere Lesson

regular

Synonyms

55 synonyms
Close in meaning

Antonyms

54 antonyms

Word family

4 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
austere — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto