austere

austere
austerely, adv.austereness, n.
/aw stear"/, adj.
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.
5. severely simple; without ornament: austere writing.
6. lacking softness; hard: an austere bed of straw.
7. rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
[1300-50; ME ( < AF) < L austerus < Gk austerós harsh, rough, bitter]
Syn. 4. 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.
Ant. 4. luxurious, comfortable, lush; sybaritic.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • austère — [ ostɛr ] adj. • 1120 « âpre »; lat. austerus, du gr. 1 ♦ Qui se montre sévère pour soi, ne s accorde aucun luxe ou plaisir. Un homme austère. ⇒ puritain, rigoriste, sévère, sobre, spartiate, stoïcien. Par ext. ⇒ dur, rigoureux. La vie austère d… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • austère — AUSTÈRE. adj. des 2 g. Qui est rigoureux en ce qui regarde le traitement du corps, et qui mortifie les sens et l esprit. Religion austère. Règle austère. Jeûne austère. Mener une vie austère. Faire une pénitence austère. Il garde un silence… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • austere — AUSTERE. adj. de tout genre, Qui est rigoureux en ce qui regarde le traitement du corps. Religion austere. Ordre austere. regle austere. habit austere. mener une vie austere. faire une penitence austere. jeusne austere. deüil austere. Il signifie …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Austere — Aus*tere , [F. aust[ e]re, L. austerus, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to parch, dry. Cf. {Sear}.] 1. Sour and astringent; rough to the state; having acerbity; as, an austere crab apple; austere wine. [1913 Webster] 2. Severe in modes of judging, or living, or …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • austere — (adj.) early 14c., from O.Fr. austere (Mod.Fr. austère) and directly from L. austerus dry, harsh, sour, tart, from Gk. austeros bitter, harsh, especially making the tongue dry (originally used of fruits, wines), metaphorically austere, harsh,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • austere — [adj1] severe in manner ascetic, astringent, cold, earnest, exacting, forbidding, formal, grave, grim, hard, harsh, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, rigid, rigorous, serious, sober, solemn, somber, stern, stiff, strict, stringent, unfeeling,… …   New thesaurus

  • austere — [ô stir′] adj. [ME < OFr < L austerus, harsh < Gr austēros, dry, harsh < auein, to dry < auos, dry < IE base * saus, dry > SEAR1] 1. having a severe or stern look, manner, etc.; forbidding 2. showing strict self discipline… …   English World dictionary

  • Austère — Austère, (frz. ostär) finster, streng, mürrisch; Austerität, austerité, Ernst, Strenge, finsteres Wesen …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • austere — index astringent, bitter (penetrating), bleak (severely simple), caustic, draconian, harsh, rigid, severe …   Law dictionary

  • austere — *severe, stern, ascetic Analogous words: bald, *bare: unembellished, unadorned, unornamented, undecorated (see affirmative verbs at ADORN): dispassionate (see FAIR): rigorous, strict (see RIGID): grave, somber, *serious, sober, earnest Antonyms:… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • austere — Austere, Austerus …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

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