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stern

adjective · noun US /stɜːrn/

of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect

How often you will meet it

Rank 2,027 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 8,867 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.004% of every word in the library.

What it means

adjective

  1. of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect also: austere an austere expressiona stern face
  2. not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty also: grim, inexorable, relentless, unappeasable, unforgiving, unrelenting grim determinationgrim necessity
  3. severe and unremitting in making demands also: strict, exacting an exacting instructora stern disciplinarian
  4. severely simple also: austere, severe, stark a stark interior

noun

  1. the rear part of a ship also: after part, quarter, poop, tail
  2. United States concert violinist (born in Russia in 1920) also: Isaac Stern
  3. the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on also: buttocks, nates, arse, butt, backside, bum he deserves a good kick in the buttare you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

stern in real books

Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.

  • The conduct of a damsel in the old town of Richmond was even more stern.

    Myths and Legends of Our Own Land — Volume 02 · Charles M. (Charles Montgomery) Skinner · Chapter 1

  • Stealth, it occurred to him, had, since last night, become a stern condition of his life.

    The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1

  • Wild was the life we led; Many the souls that sped, Many the hearts that bled, By our stern orders.

    The Complete Poetical Works of Henry · Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Chapter 1

  • Keith had to stand in the stern of the boat and wave his handkerchief as long as his mother remained visible.

    The Soul of a Child · Edwin Björkman · Chapter 1

  • There was force in the stern self-repression of his speech, in the curve of his lips, the clear lightning of his eyes.

    The Betrayal · E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim · Chapter 1

Nearby in the frequency table

2,023 tones2,024 custom2,025 waves2,026 members 2,027 stern 2,028 vague2,029 darling2,030 bid2,031 sacrifice

The whole table Read a book