Austerity

Origin

From Old French austerité ("harshness, severity"), from Latin austēritās ("harshness, sourness"). See austere.

Full definition of austerity

Noun

1. Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
2. Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
3. (economics) A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.
• 2012, April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election, 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."
4. (obsolete) Sourness and harshness to the taste.

Antonyms

• (severity of manners or life) comfort

Related terms

• austere
• austerely