1
as in sacrifice
voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites
They moved off the grid to live a life of austerity.
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2
as in gruffness
the quality or state of being stern and serious in manner or appearance
His air of austerity tends to put others off.
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3
as in misery
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
His family spent years living in austerity during the recession.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of austerity
But in Argentina, a harsh austerity program under libertarian President Javier Milei may have hobbled the country’s ability to respond to the fires, researchers said, citing budget cuts to firefighting crews, a lack of planning and deregulation of tourism activities in Patagonia’s national parks.
—
Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Antiques layered into a comfortable, practical palette help strike the balance between austerity and warmth.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
While deficit reduction is necessary, the CRFB warned that rapid implementation of such austerity measures during a weak economy could trigger the worst economic contraction in nearly a century.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
The austerity gives her plenty of room to writhe, mug, and moan between occasional shots of an inflatable Martian and a tropical-looking Tiffany lamp.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for austerity
Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Antiques layered into a comfortable, practical palette help strike the balance between austerity and warmth.
—Hannah Coates, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
While deficit reduction is necessary, the CRFB warned that rapid implementation of such austerity measures during a weak economy could trigger the worst economic contraction in nearly a century.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
The austerity gives her plenty of room to writhe, mug, and moan between occasional shots of an inflatable Martian and a tropical-looking Tiffany lamp.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for austerity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for austerity
Noun
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Bruins fans don’t see the travel as a sacrifice.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2026
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Titles built on sacrifice The titles at South Oak Cliff are three that came the hard way, through sacrifice beyond the rigors of practice.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Mackay and Turner are both excellent, two movie stars who seem totally game to be asked to move with real gruffness.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Italian carried on at Spurs for another 13 months before finally being put out of his misery after his much more memorable rant at Southampton in March 2023.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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But Berthe has lost her whole family to the camps … isn’t the cause of her misery right there?—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Data discipline allows organizations to connect real-time industrial conditions to enterprise workflows, making sure decisions are based on trustworthy and contextual information.—
William Jones,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
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His lack of messaging discipline has been on display after concerns about high costs of living helped propel Democratic wins around the country on Election Day last November.—
Will Weissert,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Beyond their asceticism, the six members of the group - Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung - hail from different countries, including the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.—
Doug Melville,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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Frayne writes that some second- and third-century sects, such as the Encratites, Priscilliantists, and Manicheans, advocated against meat eating, typically as part of a broader asceticism that might also include celibacy.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Their story—forged amid war, murder, and deprivation—has long lived in the margins of pop history.—
Margaret Heidenry,
Vanity Fair,
24 Feb. 2026
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There's truth to that, but there's also a deprivation in that.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Department of Homeland Security would be barred from using a full-body restraint device called the WRAP under a new bill introduced in the House on Wednesday.—
JASON DEAREN AND JIM MUSTIAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
26 Feb. 2026
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The restraint is noteworthy because the Kim regime often uses parades to showcase its most menacing weapons, and state propaganda has been leaning into weapons imagery recently.—
Will Ripley,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but no further information on the nature or severity of the injuries was available, Kelley said.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
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While the court handed down several years in prison, the family said the outcome doesn't match the severity of the crime.—
Madeleine Wright,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Austerity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/austerity. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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