HOW TO PRONOUNCE
austerity
/ɔˈstɛɹɪti/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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aw-STAIR-ih-tee: stress STAIR.
The first syllable is lighter than the second. Keep the last two vowels short and unstressed, with the final y sounding like ee.
TRY SAYING
“The council debated a new period of austerity.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗What does austerity mean?
noun
- Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
- Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
- A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.
More meanings (1)
noun
- (obsolete) Sourness and harshness to the taste.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ɔˈstɛɹɪti/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
“These are things not to be said,” he admonished her, after a moment's pause, and speaking with carefully measured austerity.
Some ridiculed Cato for his economy, others looked with respect on this gentle relaxation of his usual rigor and austerity.
More book examples (3)
Self-management supposedly is to be replaced by the discipline of the market and by fiscal austerity, ultimately leading to a stable dinar.
It might be partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress, and partly to the lack of demonstration in her manners.
I do not question that the great austerity of manners which is observable in the United States, arises, in the first instance, from religious faith.