Stern - English meaning

adjective

Severe or strict in manner or attitude.

Usage examples:

He was an austere man, with a rigidly puritanical outlook

adjective

Very simple, with only the things that are absolutely necessary, especially because of severe limits on money or goods

Usage examples:

An austere childhood during the war

adjective

Plain and without decoration or unnecessary details

Usage examples:

The courtroom was a large, dark chamber, an austere place.

noun

The rear surface of the human body from the shoulders to the hips.

Usage examples:

He lay on his back

adverb

In the opposite direction from the one that one is facing or travelling towards.

Usage examples:

He moved back a pace

verb

Give financial, material, or moral support to.

Usage examples:

He had a newspaper empire backing him

adjective

Relentlessly severe, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance.

Usage examples:

A hard, dour, humourless fanatic

adjective

(of a person’s appearance or manner) very serious and sad, and likely to judge people severely

Usage examples:

A dour look

adjective

(usually of a person's appearance or manner) unfriendly, unhappy, and very serious

Usage examples:

The normally dour mr james was photographed smiling and joking with friends.

adjective

Of, containing, or reminiscent of flint.

Usage examples:

Flinty soil

adjective

Made of or like flint

Usage examples:

A flinty material, he looked at me with flinty eyes.

adjective

Severe and determined

Usage examples:

He looked at me with flinty eyes.

adjective

Unfriendly or threatening in appearance.

Usage examples:

A grim and forbidding building

verb

Refuse to allow (something).

Usage examples:

I can see why phones were forbidden

adjective

Unfriendly and likely to be unpleasant or harmful

Usage examples:

A forbidding row of security guards, with storm clouds rushing over them, the mountains looked dark…

noun

The action of forming an expression of disapproval, displeasure, or concentration by furrowing one's brows.

Usage examples:

Unfortunately, frowning is contagious

adjective

Forming an expression of disapproval, displeasure, or concentration by furrowing one's brows.

Usage examples:

The young writer pitched his screenplay to a frowning producer

verb

Furrow one's brows in an expression indicating disapproval, displeasure, or concentration.

Usage examples:

He frowned as he reread the letter

noun

A hole dug in the ground to receive a coffin or dead body, typically marked by a stone or mound.

Usage examples:

The coffin was lowered into the grave

adjective

Giving cause for alarm; serious.

Usage examples:

A matter of grave concern

noun

Another term for grave accent.

adjective

Very serious or gloomy.

Usage examples:

His grim expression

adjective

Not good; having no chance of a good result

Usage examples:

The outlook for a full recovery was grim., the future looks grim for workers who are losing their j…

adjective

Not showing what you are thinking or feeling in your face

Usage examples:

She sat poker-faced all the way through the film.

noun

The aftermost and highest deck of a ship, especially in a sailing ship where it typically forms the roof of a cabin in the stern.

Usage examples:

There on the poop stood captain meech

verb

(of a wave) break over the stern of (a ship), sometimes causing it to capsize.

Usage examples:

Off rame head we were badly pooped

verb

Stop functioning.

Usage examples:

The analogue tape fluttered slightly in pitch but didn't poop out

noun

The back part of something, especially a building or vehicle.

Usage examples:

The kitchen door at the rear of the house

adjective

At the back.

Usage examples:

The car's rear window

verb

Bring up and care for (a child) until they are fully grown.

Usage examples:

Nigel was born and reared in bath

adjective

Demanding or characterized by careful consideration or application.

Usage examples:

Marriage is a serious matter

adjective

Not joking; not intended to amuse

Usage examples:

You can never tell when he’s serious., that’s an interesting job offer – i’d give it serious consid…

adjective

(of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense.

Usage examples:

A severe shortage of technicians

adjective

Causing great pain, difficulty, damage, etc.; very serious

Usage examples:

A severe earthquake, the family faced severe challenges when he lost his job., severe criticism

adjective

Not affected by alcohol; not drunk.

Usage examples:

Drunk or sober, he was driven by a manic energy and impatience that made him a difficult friend and…

verb

Make or become sober after drinking alcohol.

Usage examples:

That coffee sobered him up

adjective

Having had no alcohol; not drunk

Usage examples:

The sober expression had not left martin’s face.

adjective

Dark or dull in colour or tone.

Usage examples:

The night skies were sombre and starless

adjective

Resembling steel in colour, brightness, or strength.

Usage examples:

A steely blue

adjective

(of a person’s behavior or character) hard and strong as steel

Usage examples:

Only their steely determination to survive kept them going.

adjective

Covered with or full of small pieces of rock.

Usage examples:

Rough stony paths

adjective

Containing a lot of stones

Usage examples:

The ground was too stony to be used as a farm., though we begged him, he gave us a stony look and t…

noun

The hindmost part of an animal, especially when prolonged beyond the rest of the body, such as the flexible extension of the backbone in a vertebrate, the feathers at the hind end of a bird, or a terminal appendage in an insect.

Usage examples:

The dog's tail began to wag frantically

verb

Follow and observe (someone) closely, especially in secret.

Usage examples:

A flock of paparazzi had tailed them all over london

noun

Limitation of ownership, especially of an estate or title limited to a person and their direct descendants.

Usage examples:

The land was held in tail general

adjective

Reserved, formal, or strict in one's behaviour or attitudes; austere and inflexible.

Usage examples:

He was so unbending and uncompromising

verb

Make or become straight from a bent or twisted form or position.

Usage examples:

I had trouble unbending my cramped knees

adjective

If someone is unbending, they often make fixed judgments and decisions that they are unwilling to change

Usage examples:

He has earned a reputation as a stern and unbending politician.

adjective

Not willing to forgive or excuse people's faults or wrongdoings.

Usage examples:

He was always a proud and unforgiving man

adjective

Not willing to forgive people for things they do wrong

Usage examples:

My wife is unforgiving by nature., the unforgiving seas make search and rescue very difficult., sat…

adjective

Not friendly.

Usage examples:

She shot him an unfriendly glance

adjective

Not yielding in strength, severity, or determination.

Usage examples:

The heat was unrelenting

adjective

Extremely determined; never weakening or ending

Usage examples:

Unrelenting toughness/opposition, unrelenting neglect/pollution

adjective

(of a person or their manner or expression) serious or unfriendly; not smiling.

Usage examples:

His face was hard and unsmiling

adjective

Not feeling, showing, or expressing sympathy.

Usage examples:

I'm not being unsympathetic, but i can't see why you put up with him

adjective

Not sympathetic (= showing that you understand or care about someone's suffering)

adjective

(of a mass or structure) not giving way to pressure; hard or solid.

Usage examples:

The atlantic hurled its waves at the unyielding rocks

adjective

Not giving up control or responsibility for (something) as a result of influence or persuasion

Usage examples:

The economist showed an unyielding commitment to tough financial stability.