austere

\a.u.ˈstɛ.re\

/\a.u.ˈstɛ.re\/ adj

The verdict

“austere” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Féminin pluriel de austero.

Corpus desk

Index FR-austere · austere · French

austere · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for austere
PropertyValue
Headwordaustere
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\a.u.ˈstɛ.re\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « austere » en français

austerereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

austere is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \a.u.ˈstɛ.re\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Féminin pluriel de austero.".

austere has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is austere, spelled A-U-S-T-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Féminin pluriel de austero.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "austere"?
"austere" is spelled A-U-S-T-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a.u.ˈstɛ.re\.
What does "austere" mean?
As an adjective, "austere" means: Féminin pluriel de austero.
How do you pronounce "austere"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "austere" is \a.u.ˈstɛ.re\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "austere" come from?
"austere" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list