Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Austere \Aus*tere"\, [F. aust[`e]re, L. austerus, fr. Gr. ?, fr.
   ? to parch, dry. Cf. {Sear}.]
   1. Sour and astringent; rough to the state; having acerbity;
      as, an austere crab apple; austere wine.

   2. Severe in modes of judging, or living, or acting; rigid;
      rigorous; stern; as, an austere man, look, life.

            From whom the austere Etrurian virtue rose.
                                                  --Dryden.

   3. Unadorned; unembellished; severely simple.

   Syn: Harsh; sour; rough; rigid; stern; severe; rigorous;
        strict.

Source : WordNet®

austere
     adj 1: severely simple; "a stark interior" [syn: {severe}, {stark}]
     2: of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in
        aspect; "an austere expression"; "a stern face" [syn: {stern}]
     3: practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically
        ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you
        would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad's
        austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence"
        [syn: {ascetic}, {ascetical}, {spartan}]