austerity
pronunciation
How to pronounce austerity in British English:
UK [ɒˈsterəti]
How to pronounce austerity in American English:
US [ɔːˈsterəti]
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- Noun:
- the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)
Word Origin
- austerity (n.)
- mid-14c., "sternness, harshness," from Old French austerite "harshness, cruelty" (14c.) and directly from Late Latin austeritatem (nominative austeritas), from austerus (see austere). Of severe self-discipline, from 1580s; hence "severe simplicity" (1875); applied during World War II to national policies limiting non-essentials as a wartime economy.
Example
- 1. He is already preaching austerity and reform .
- 2. The crisis is engendering a combination of public-sector austerity and private-sector uncertainty .
- 3. Real austerity measures will be introduced to control investment growth and credit expansion .
- 4. Austerity may not have touched the players themselves , but it is catching up with many domestic football clubs .
- 5. And the austerity has been real .