austere. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

austere

SYLLABICATION:	aus·tere
PRONUNCIATION:	ô-stîr
ADJECTIVE:	Inflected forms: aus·ter·er, aus·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. 3. Having no adornment or ornamentation; bare: an austere style. See synonyms at severe.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old French, from Latin austrus, from Greek austros.
OTHER FORMS:	aus·terely —ADVERB aus·tereness —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.