austerity
aw-STER-uh-tee
/ɒˈster.ə.ti/
Sternness or severity of manner; or official government measures designed to reduce public expenditure and government debt.
In economics, austerity specifically means cutting public services, pensions, and safety nets to balance budgets during economic crises.
The story behind the word. The Greek word 'austeros' originally described something that dried out the tongue, like harsh wine or unripe fruit. It moved into Latin as 'austerus' (severe, stern) and passed into Old French and English. In the 20th century, economists borrowed this term to describe dry, painful government budgets stripped of all comfort.
Word relationships
- frugality: Frugality is a voluntary individual habit of careful spending, whereas economic austerity is enforced government spending cuts.
- retrenchment: Retrenchment focuses specifically on cutting expenditures or employees, whereas austerity encompasses broader social conditions of strictness.
- extravagance: Extravagance involves reckless or luxurious spending without restraint.
- profligacy: Profligacy means wasteful, reckless extravagance.
Commonly confused with
- poverty: Poverty is a state of lacking wealth, whereas austerity is a policy or chosen lifestyle of strict fiscal reduction.
Word family
- austere (adjective): Severe or strict in manner or appearance.
- austerely (adverb): In an austere manner.
Collocations
- austerity measures
- fiscal austerity
- period of austerity
- austerity budget
Idioms & expressions
- tighten one's belt
Example sentences
- "Following the financial crash, several European nations implemented severe austerity measures to satisfy international lenders." Macroeconomics
- "The monk lived a life of strict austerity, sleeping on stone floors and eating only simple grains." Literature
Memory hook
Austerity sounds like 'A STERn city' that has stripped away all entertainment and government benefits. Harsh cuts, dry tongue.
When not to use
Do not use to describe temporary personal budgeting like skipping dinner out; it implies severe, systemic structural cutting or extreme self-discipline.
Fun facts
- The 'Austerity Games' was the nickname given to the 1948 London Olympics because Britain was still enforcing post-WWII rationing.
Related words
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