austerity

«austerity» in Mova's school dictionary: A time when a government cuts spending sharply and people… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (austerity, austerities)

meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) A time when a government cuts spending sharply and people have less money and fewer services. tree →

2) A plain, simple way of living without comforts or luxury: the austerity of a monk's life. tree →

3) Strictness or seriousness in how someone looks or acts. tree →

sense in the lessons

Mostly a news, history and economics word: "austerity" describes cuts to public spending; in history it describes rationing years after a war. In stories it describes a plain, bare room or a stern person. Phrases: austerity measures, a time of austerity, live in austerity.

examples

• The government announced austerity measures to save money. tree →
• During the years of austerity, the library opened only three days a week. tree →
• After the war people lived with austerity and rationing. tree →
• The monks lived a life of austerity, with plain food and no luxuries. tree →
• The bare room had a cold austerity. tree →
• The austerity of her face made the children quiet. tree →

note

Mostly uncountable. Adjective: austere (plain, strict). Formal word; everyday talk says "cuts" or "tight budget". Say aw-STER-i-tee.

In the corpora

• "Austerity measures" means cuts in public spending.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «austerity» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.