austerity C2 Topic:Money & Finance US /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/ See IPA manual Freq #32339 Meanings 1 noun A government policy of cutting public spending and raising taxes to reduce debt. Years of austerity left many public services badly underfunded. 2 noun Strictness or harshness in the way one lives or behaves. The monks were known for the austerity of their daily routine. 3 noun Plainness and lack of decoration; severe simplicity. The austerity of the building's design gave it a calm, dignified feel. Thesaurus ↔ Opposites comfort Word family Forms austerities Derived forms antiausterityausteritarian Related forms austereausterelyausteriate Etymology AI details From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity. Topics Money & Finance Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # austerity **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/ **Frequency rank:** 32339 ## Meanings 1. A government policy of cutting public spending and raising taxes to reduce debt. 2. Strictness or harshness in the way one lives or behaves. 3. Plainness and lack of decoration; severe simplicity. ## Examples - Years of austerity left many public services badly underfunded. - The monks were known for the austerity of their daily routine. - The austerity of the building's design gave it a calm, dignified feel. ## Antonyms - comfort ## Derived Forms - antiausterity - austeritarian ## Related Forms - austere - austerely - austeriate ## Etymology From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity. ## AI Etymology Austerity is from Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Current senses include a government policy of cutting public spending and raising taxes to reduce debt and strictness or harshness in the way one lives or behaves. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiausterity and austeritarian; related words such as austere, austerely, and austeriate. ## Topics - Money & Finance - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown