austerity Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)
    nonindulgence; asceticism.

WordNet

Aus*ter"i*ty noun
Etymology
F. austérité, L. austerias, fr. austerus. See Austere.
Wordforms
plural Austerities
Definitions
  1. Sourness and harshness to the taste. Obs. Horsley.
  2. Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
    The austerity of John the Baptist. Milton.
  3. Plainness; freedom from adornment; severe simplicity.
    Partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress, and partly to the lack of demonstration in her manners. Hawthorne.

Webster 1913