Stern \Stern\, a. [Compar. Sterner; superl. Sternest.]
[OE.
sterne, sturne, AS. styrne; cf. D. stuurish stern, Sw. stursk
refractory. [root]166.]
Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or
aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed;
unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as,
a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern
gaze; a stern decree.
The sterne wind so loud gan to rout. --Chaucer.
I would outstare the sternest eyes that look. --Shak.
When that the poor have cried, C[ae]sar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. --Shak.
Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard. --Dryden.
These barren rocks, your stern inheritance.
--Wordsworth.
Syn: Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind;
hard-hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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