stern

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /stɝn/ UK /stɜːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #8180

Meanings

1

adj
Serious and strict, expecting to be obeyed.

The teacher gave us a stern warning about being late.
2

adj
Strict and demanding, not easily satisfied.

She is a stern judge of poor work.
3

noun
The back part of a ship or boat.

He stood at the stern and watched the harbor disappear.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · serious and strict,... severe grim austere

2 adj · strict and demanding, not... exacting

3 noun · the back part of a ship or... aft poop

More brutal callous coldcold-eyedcruel dourflint-heartedforbidding frosty hardhard-boiled

Opposites

animated cheerful emotionalempathicgregarious kindly lenient softunstrictvivacious

Word family

Forms sternersterneststerns

Derived forms asternstern-wheelersterncastlesterndrivesternfaststernforemoststernitysternlesssternlysternmansternmoststernness

Related forms aft cheerless ghastly keel mean obstinate resilient rigid ruthless sinister strong sturdy

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff

Etymology

From Middle English stern, sterne, sturne, from Old English styrne (“stern, grave, strict, austere, hard, severe, cruel”), from Proto-Germanic *sturnijaz (“angry, astonished, shocked”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“rigid, stiff”). Cognate with Scots stern (“bold, courageous, fierce, resolute”), Old High German stornēn (“to be astonished”), Dutch stuurs (“glum, austere”), Swedish stursk (“insolent”).

stern Middle English styrne Old English *sturnijaz Proto-Germanic *ster- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Maritime & Sailing

External links

# stern

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /stɝn/
**IPA (UK):** /stɜːn/
**Frequency rank:** 8180

## Meanings
1. Serious and strict, expecting to be obeyed.
2. Strict and demanding, not easily satisfied.
3. The back part of a ship or boat.

## Examples
- The teacher gave us a stern warning about being late.
- She is a stern judge of poor work.
- He stood at the stern and watched the harbor disappear.

## Synonyms
- brutal
- callous
- cold
- cold-eyed
- cruel
- dour
- flint-hearted
- forbidding
- frosty
- grim
- hard
- hard-boiled

## Antonyms
- animated
- cheerful
- emotional
- empathic
- gregarious
- kindly
- lenient
- soft
- unstrict
- vivacious

## Derived Forms
- astern
- stern-wheeler
- sterncastle
- sterndrive
- sternfast
- sternforemost
- sternity
- sternless
- sternly
- sternman
- sternmost
- sternness

## Related Forms
- aft
- cheerless
- ghastly
- keel
- mean
- obstinate
- resilient
- rigid
- ruthless
- sinister
- strong
- sturdy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: stern
- Root: styrne
- Root: *sturnijaz
- Root: *ster-

## Etymology
From Middle English stern, sterne, sturne, from Old English styrne (“stern, grave, strict, austere, hard, severe, cruel”), from Proto-Germanic *sturnijaz (“angry, astonished, shocked”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“rigid, stiff”). Cognate with Scots stern (“bold, courageous, fierce, resolute”), Old High German stornēn (“to be astonished”), Dutch stuurs (“glum, austere”), Swedish stursk (“insolent”).

## AI Etymology
Stern is from Middle English stern, sterne, sturne, from Old English styrne (“stern, grave, strict, austere, hard, severe, cruel”), from Proto-Germanic *sturnijaz (“angry, astonished, shocked”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“rigid, stiff”). Cognate with Scots stern (“bold, courageous, fierce, resolute”), Old High German stornēn (“to be astonished”), Dutch stuurs (“glum, austere”), Swedish stursk (“insolent”). In present-day use, it can mean serious and strict, expecting to be obeyed, or strict and demanding, not easily satisfied.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Maritime & Sailing

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