Meaning & use
austere
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Very plain and bare, with no decoration or comfort.
Grammar: Describes places, styles and lifestyles: an austere room; more austere.
Patterns
- austere in style
The monks lived in an austere stone cell with only a bed and a lamp.
The chapel's austere interior had not a single ornament.
She furnished the flat in an austere modern style.
adjectivecomparable
Stern and serious in manner, seeming cold and strict.
Grammar: Applied to people and their looks or tone: an austere teacher.
Patterns
- an austere figure
Our austere headmaster rarely smiled.
He gave the children an austere look when they ran in the hall.
Her austere manner made guests hesitate to speak.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Marked by strict economy and cutting back on spending, usually by a government.
Grammar: Often used before words like measures, budget or policy.
Patterns
- austere measures
The government introduced austere measures to reduce the deficit.
Families struggled under an austere budget.
The council passed an austere spending plan.
Word forms
| comparative | more austere |
|---|---|
| superlative | most austere |
Common combinations
- austere lifestyle
- He chose an austere lifestyle with few possessions.
- austere beauty
- The desert has an austere beauty.
- austere budget
- An austere budget forced the school to cut clubs.
- austere surroundings
- They sat in austere surroundings, waiting to be called.
- austere expression
- She wore an austere expression throughout the meeting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spartan
- Spartan stresses deliberate hardship and discipline, while austere can simply mean plain.
- stern
- Stern describes only a person's strictness, but austere can also describe a place or style.
- plain
- Plain is neutral and mild, while austere suggests a striking lack of comfort.
- ascetic
- Ascetic describes someone who gives up pleasures on purpose, often for religious reasons.
Opposites
Word family
- austerity noun
- harsh simplicity or government spending cuts
- austerely adverb
- in a plain and strict way
- austereness noun
- the quality of being austere
Commonly confused: austere or astute?
austere vs astute
Astute means clever at judging situations, and has nothing to do with plainness or severity.
Practice
The room was so ___ that it held only a narrow bed and a wooden chair.
Choose one answer.
A room with just a bed and a chair is bare and plain, which is austere. Lavish, cozy and cluttered would suggest more furnishings or comfort.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “austere”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.