# Austen vs austere

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### Austen
*name · IPA /ˈɒstɪn/ · frequency rank #19,526*
An English surname transferred from the given name; a variant of Austin.

### austere
*adjective · IPA /ɒˈstɪə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #28,822*
Grim or severe in manner or appearance.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/austen-vs-austere