austerity
noun, plural aus·ter·i·ties.
Origin of austerity
SYNONYMS FOR austerity
Words nearby austerity
VOCAB BUILDER
What does austerity mean?
Austerity means sternness, severity, or a state of extreme self-discipline or minimalistic living.
Austerity is the noun form of the adjective austere, which most commonly means extremely stern or strict or without any frills or luxuries.
The word is often used in the context of a national economy in which services and access to certain goods have been scaled back by the government during times of economic crisis. This sense is especially seen in the phrase austerity measures.
The term is sometimes used in its plural form to refer to ascetic practices, like living in a monastery—think of a monk who lives in a bedroom with only a metal cot and eats plain rice every day.
Example: The government has turned to austerity to help curb the rising debt.
Where does austerity come from?
The first records of the word austerity in English come from around the late 1300s. It ultimately derives from the Greek austērós, meaning “harsh, rough, bitter.”
Austerity involves living in harsh, rough, and severely simple conditions. Sometimes, it’s on purpose. The austerities of life in a monastery are typically intended to help those who live there focus on the spiritual aspect of life without being distracted by anything that’s considered frivolous.
In many cases, though, austerity is not by choice. People forced to live in austerity must get along in the most minimalistic conditions, without any luxuries and often without some things that other people considered necessities. Austerity measures implemented by governments often involve cutting everything from the budget that’s not absolutely essential, leaving citizens to live in extremely austere conditions.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms of austerity?
- austere (adjective)
What are some words that often get used in discussing austerity?
How is austerity used in real life?
The word austerity is often used to refer to strict economic conditions.
Harvard's choice to do belt-tightening while sitting on a $41 billion endowment nicely shows how austerity is fundamentally a ritual performance meant to overwrite a moral narrative onto the set of priorities where money is more important than lives
— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca) April 15, 2020
Greece heads towards historic no vote against austerity measures http://t.co/dLyO74IQiV #Greece
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 5, 2015
Early Monday morning, Saudi Arabia announced a slew of austerity measures to cope with the fiscal impact of the coronavirus pandemic and oil price rout, tripling its value-added tax and cutting a cost-of-living allowance for government workers:https://t.co/HlMl39xCxF
— Vivian Nereim (@viviannereim) May 11, 2020
Try using austerity!
Which of the following words is MOST likely to be associated with austerity?
A. luxury
B. convenience
C. abundance
D. simplicity
Example sentences from the Web for austerity
British Dictionary definitions for austerity
noun plural -ties
- reduced availability of luxuries and consumer goods, esp when brought about by government policy
- (as modifier)an austerity budget