Dictionaries › English

austere

Pronunciation: /ɒˈstɪə(ɹ)/

The English word “austere” has 4 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Grim or severe in manner or appearance.
  2. Lacking decoration; trivial; not extravagant or gaudy.
  3. Adhering to the economic policy of austerity.
  4. Harsh; astringent.

Etymology

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”).

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “austere” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.