austere

[aw-steer]

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, luxurious

5. severely simple; without ornament.

   austere writing.

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

austere

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of austere¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin austērus, from Greek austērós “harsh, rough, bitter”

Word History and Origins

Origin of austere¹

C14: from Old French austère, from Latin austērus sour, from Greek austēros astringent; related to Greek hauein to dry

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Never a natural politician, he was seen as aloof and austere.

From BBC

Northridge says it was meant to have an “Eastern European socialist look, which is very functional, very austere.”

From Los Angeles Times

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily imposed laws and regulations that reflect its austere vision of Islamic law.

From BBC

The walls of these rooms accomplish a kind of muting of her aura, a place where veneration feels austere or regimented by bureaucracy.

From Los Angeles Times

As the show opens, 10 dancers line up on either side of her, dressed in austere outfits that recall The Handmaid's Tale.

From BBC

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.