AUSTERITY

austerity, asceticism, nonindulgence

(noun) the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

austerity (countable and uncountable, plural austerities)

Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.

Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.

(economics) A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.

(obsolete) Sourness and harshness to the taste.

Antonyms

• (severity of manners or life): comfort

Source: Wiktionary

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Aus*ter"i*ty, n.; pl. Austplwies (. Etym: [F. austérité, L. austerias, fr. austerus. See Austere.]

1. Sourness and harshness to the taste. [Obs.] Horsley.

2. Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline. The austerity of John the Baptist. Milton.

3. Plainness; freedom from adornment; severe simplicity. Partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress, and partly to the lack of demonstration in her manners. Hawthorne.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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