WordWeb Online

1. Very plain, appearing grim and minimally functional
   - severe, stark, stern
    
2. Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanour; forbidding in aspect
   "an austere expression";
   - stern
    
3. Practising great self-denial
   "a desert nomad's austere life";
   - ascetic, ascetical, spartan

Derived forms: austerest, austerer

See also: abstemious, nonindulgent, plain, strict

Encyclopedia: Austere