stern
sterner; sternest; sterns
You know when you've done something really wrong, and the person who gets you in trouble has that unforgiving look on his face? The best word for that look is stern, meaning "strict" or "severe."
Stern, strict, severe, harsh, unforgiving — they all more or less mean the same thing, which is very tough and exacting, with a little helping of seriousness thrown in for good measure. What does this have to do with the stern of a boat, also known as the rear area? Um, nothing? But it's good to know about that meaning too, since it could come in handy some day when you're giving directions on a ship.
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of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect“a stern face”
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synonyms:
austere
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nonindulgent, strict
characterized by strictness, severity, or restraint
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nonindulgent, strict
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severe and unremitting in making demands
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severely simple
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not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty“the stern demands of parenthood”
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synonyms:
grim, inexorable, relentless, unappeasable, unforgiving, unrelenting
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implacable
incapable of being placated
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implacable
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the rear part of a ship
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the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
Vocabulary lists containing stern
In a small Bangladeshi village where only boys are expected to earn money, ten-year-old Naimi disguises herself as a boy so she can get a job to help her struggling family.
Ten-year-old Amelia learns to cope with her noise sensitivity while learning to play music and make new friends in fifth grade.
This novel is a fictionalized biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a mathematical genius who begins work as an indentured servant on a ship before becoming a captain and celebrated navigator.
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