austerity en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- ôstĕr′ǐtē (US)
- /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/ (US)
Etymology
From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
The most rigid and noted of the English ladies resident in the French capital acknowledged and countenanced her; the virtuous Lady Elderbury, the severe Lady Rockminster, the venerable Countess of Southdown—people, in a word, renowned for austerity, and of quite a dazzling moral purity:—so great and beneficent an influence had the possession of ten (some said twenty) thousand a year exercised upon Lady Clavering’s character and reputation
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 23, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
-
(countable, uncountable) Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
One critic [Madeleine Schwartz] recently noted that the politics of Rooney’s novels were largely “gestural,” with airy mentions of Gaza or austerity protests but not much radical substance.
2019 April 12, Annalisa Quinn, “The Small Rebellions of Sally Rooney’s Normal People”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 01 May 2020:After millenniums of austerity and poverty, the age of limitless “superabundance” was at hand.
2025 March 18, Samuel Moyn, “Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 27 Mar 2025:The war-torn first half of the 20th century, together with the railway grouping of 1923, ushered in further austerity in design.
2021 October 20, Dr Joseph Brennan, “A key part of our diverse railway heritage”, in RAIL, number 942, page 56:
-
(countable, uncountable) A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.
He said France clearly wanted to "close one page and open another". He reiterated his opposition to austerity alone as the only way out of Europe's crisis: "My final duty, and I know I'm being watched from beyond our borders, is to put Europe back on the path of growth and employment."
2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in the Guardian:
- (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Sourness and harshness to the taste.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| austerities | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
comfort (antonym(s) of “severity of manners or life”)
Deriveds
Relateds
austeriate · austerely · austere
Translations (68)
ca austeritat (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · cs úspornost (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · gl austeridade (severity of manners or life) · is harka (severity of manners or life) · ko 긴축재정 (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · ca austeritat (severity of manners or life) · ru стро́гость (severity of manners or life) · sv stränghet (severity of manners or life) · cmn 緊縮 /紧缩 (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · sh oštrina (sourness and harshness to the taste) · sv svångremspolitik (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · nb strenghet (severity of manners or life) · de Härte (severity of manners or life) · bg стипчивост (sourness and harshness to the taste) · nl bezuiniging (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · da strenghed (severity of manners or life) · de Einschränkung (severity of manners or life) · sv åtstramning (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · bg строгост (severity of manners or life) · gd teanntachd (severity of manners or life) · fr austérité (severity of manners or life) · el λιτότητα (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · sq austerity (sourness and harshness to the taste) · nb stramhet (sourness and harshness to the taste) · sh oporost (sourness and harshness to the taste) · fi talouskuri (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · cs utahování opasků (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · de Austerität (severity of manners or life) · pl surowość (severity of manners or life) · ga déine (severity of manners or life) · la austēritās (severity of manners or life) · el αυστηρότητα (severity of manners or life) · sh oporost (severity of manners or life) · fr austérité (sourness and harshness to the taste) · cs omezení (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · fi karuus (severity of manners or life) · fa-ira ریاضت اقتصادی (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · he צֶנַע (severity of manners or life) · pt austeridade (severity of manners or life) · pl polityka zaciskania pasa (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · da stramhed (sourness and harshness to the taste) · it austerità (severity of manners or life) · gd cruadal (severity of manners or life) · de Strenge (severity of manners or life) · sv åtstramningspolitik (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · cs přísnost (severity of manners or life) · ro austeritate (severity of manners or life) · is strangleiki (severity of manners or life) · es austeridad (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · hu megszorítás (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · it austerità (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · sh surovost (severity of manners or life) · fr austérité (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · de Austerität (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · cy llymder (severity of manners or life) · ar تَقَشُّف (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · sa तपस् (severity of manners or life) · fi ankaruus (severity of manners or life) · eo severŝparado (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · ru сдерживающая фискальная политика (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · ru суро́вость (severity of manners or life) · es austeridad (severity of manners or life) · de Genügsamkeit (severity of manners or life) · bg суровост (severity of manners or life) · la austēritās (sourness and harshness to the taste) · ja 緊縮財政 (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · ko 긴축 (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes) · gl austeridade (policy of deficit-cutting: reduce spending and/or raise taxes)