Austerity Meaning
/ɔˈstɛɹɪti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSeverity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
nounFreedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
Sentence Examples
The fiscal austerity may lead to an overkill of the economy.
Fiscal austerity is considered to be an answer to the rampant inflation.
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the war, the nation practiced ____ by rationing food and fuel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The government introduced ____ measures to reduce the national debt.
Word Origin & History
From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the war, the nation practiced ____ by rationing food and fuel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The government introduced ____ measures to reduce the national debt.