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austere

adj
/ɒˈstɪə(ɹ)/UK/ɔˈstiɹ/US/ɑˈstiɹ/

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”).

  1. derived from αὐστηρός — “bitter, harsh, astringent”

Definitions

  1. Grim or severe in manner or appearance.

    • The headmistress was an austere old woman.

  2. Lacking decoration

    Lacking decoration; trivial; not extravagant or gaudy.

    • The interior of the church was as austere as the parishioners were dour.
    • So we come, at above street level, into the city, and to Canterbury East Station (9.8 miles). It is an austere, rather barn-like structure, with a high roof over the two platforms.

  3. Adhering to the economic policy of austerity.

    • Counterintuitively, in an effort to be austere and save money, cities which only remove a crossing every couple of years manage to be way less efficient at it than Melbourne has been.
  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. Harsh

      Harsh; astringent.

      • It is like a small plum, nearly globular in shape, black covered with a bluish bloom, and with a very austere taste.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at austere. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01austere02grim03sinister04ominous05ill06wicked07severe

A definitional loop anchored at austere. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at austere

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA