austere

[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.
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.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin austērus < Greek austērós harsh, rough, bitter
Related forms
austerely, adverb
austereness, noun
unaustere, adjective
unausterely, adverb
Synonyms
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.
Antonyms
4. luxurious, comfortable, lush; sybaritic.
Examples from the web for austere
  • But in austere times, even the rich and famous dial it down.
  • It was after dark by the time Waldo returned to the cinder-block cabin that, all winter long, centered his austere homestead.
  • The writing is austere, studied, abstract but intelligent withal.
  • Beyond that, he's not planning on any big changes in his austere lifestyle.
  • In the past I was very good about working within an austere food budget.
  • Just a few steps away upstairs, her writing studio is neat and austere.
  • Decades ago a public library was an austere place, about as lively as a cemetery.
  • The film has an austere style you don't expect with that content.
  • The interior is a bit austere.
  • Once town and gown kept to themselves, and the place was beautiful but austere.
British Dictionary definitions for austere

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
Derived Forms
austerely, adverb
austereness, noun
Word Origin
C14: from Old French austère, from Latin austērus sour, from Greek austēros astringent; related to Greek hauein to dry
Word Origin and History for austere
adj.

early 14c., from Old French austere (Modern French austère) and directly from Latin austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart," from Greek austeros "bitter, harsh," especially "making the tongue dry" (originally used of fruits, wines), metaphorically "austere, harsh," from PIE *saus- "dry" (cf. Greek auos "dry," auein "to dry"). Use in English is figurative: "stern, severe, very simple." Related: Austerely.