austere.

1. Severely plain, restrained, or lacking ornament and comfort.

2. Strict, stern, or uncompromising in manner or practice.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• austere room
• austere discipline
• austere expression

On the page

The austere room held a bed, a chair, and no pictures.

Her aunt's austere expression softened when the dog entered.

An austere daily routine governed everyone living on the estate.

Usage notes

Primary category: gothic. Can express admirable discipline or oppressive severity; plainness need not indicate poverty. Comparative austerer or more austere; superlative austerest or most austere. Derived noun austerity.