austerity
/ɔˈstɛɹɪti/
"austerity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“austerity” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,844 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,844
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | austerity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #16,844 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “austerity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for austerity is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,844 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for austerity, with forms such as "asuterity", "ausetrity", and "aussterity". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity. The correct English form is austerity, spelled A-U-S-T-E-R-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
- 2Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
- 3A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.
- 4Sourness and harshness to the taste.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek αὐστηρότης (austērótēs, “bitter, harsh”). Morphologically austere + -ity.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: asuterity,ausetrity,aussterity,austeirty,austeritty,austerityy,austeriyt,austerrity,austertiy,austreity,austterity,autserity,uasterity
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of austerity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “austerity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-U-S-T-E-R-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɔˈstɛɹɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.