adj., -ter·er, -ter·est.

1. Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave: the austere figure of a Puritan minister.
2. Strict or severe in discipline; ascetic: a desert nomad's austere life. See synonyms at severe.
3. Having no adornment or ornamentation; bare: an austere style.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin austērus, from Greek austēros.]

austerely aus·tere'ly adv.
austereness aus·tere'ness n.

You can't take it with you, even if you're royalty:

"Muslim leaders and Saudi princes bade farewell to King Fahd on Tuesday, saying prayers in a jammed mosque and then burying him in an unmarked desert grave in keeping with the kingdom's austere version of Islam."

Posted August 3, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Cold and forbidding: bleak, dour, grim, hard, harsh, severe, stark. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, hot/cold/lukewarm.

adj

Definition: grim, barren
Antonyms: extravagant, luxurious

adj

Definition: refraining; abstinent
Antonyms: elaborate, encouraging, extravagant, indulgent, spending

adj

Definition: severe (in manner)
Antonyms: bland, calm, gentle, meek, mild

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - spartansk, asketisk

Nederlands (Dutch)
streng, ernstig, strikt, sober, eenvoudig

Français (French)
adj. - austère, sévère

Deutsch (German)
adj. - streng, enthaltsam, karg

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αυστηρός, λιτός, απέριττος, δριμύς

Italiano (Italian)
austero, sobrio, rigido

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - austero, rigoroso, rígido, abnegado, despretensioso

Русский (Russian)
суровый, строгий, аскетичный, простой (без излишеств)

Español (Spanish)
adj. - austero, estricto, riguroso, sobrio, frugal, moderado, parco, duro

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sträng, allvarlig

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
严峻的, 简朴的

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 嚴峻的, 簡樸的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 준엄한, 꾸밈 없는, 진지한, 맛이 나쁜

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 厳しい, 禁欲的な, 簡素な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) بسيط خال من الديكورات‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מחמיר, קפדני, רציני, פשוט, צנוע‬

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