Both Uses
austere
in
Rip Van Winkle
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- Rip was equally at a loss to comprehend the question; when a knowing, self-important old gentleman, in a sharp cocked hat, made his way through the crowd, putting them to the right and left with his elbows as he passed, and planting himself before Van Winkle, with one arm akimbo, the other resting on his cane, his keen eyes and sharp hat penetrating, as it were, into his very soul, demanded, in an austere tone, "What brought him to the election with a gun on his shoulder, and a mob at his heels; and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village?"†
austere = a notable absence of luxury, comfort, or decoration; or stern in manner
- It was with great difficulty that the self-important man in the cocked hat restored order; and having assumed a tenfold [v]austerity of brow, demanded again of the unknown culprit, what he came there for, and whom he was seeking!†
*austerity = a government policy in which significantly less money is spent than normal; or any notable absence of luxury, comfort, or decoration
Definitions:
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(1)
(austere) a notable absence of luxury, comfort, or decoration
or:
of a person: stern in manner; or practicing great self-denial - (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)