noun
1. something hard to endure
-
the asperity of northern winters
• Syn:
• Hypernyms: ↑difficulty, ↑difficultness
• Hyponyms: ↑sternness
2. extreme plainness
• Syn: ↑austereness, ↑severity
• Derivationally related forms: ↑severe, ↑austere (for: ↑austereness)
• Hypernyms: ↑plainness
3. used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
• Hypernyms: ↑intensity, ↑intensiveness
• Hyponyms: ↑foulness, ↑raininess, ↑seriousness, ↑distressfulness
4. excessive sternness
-
severity of character
-
the harshness of his punishment was inhuman
-
the rigors of boot camp
• Syn:
↑severity, ↑harshness, ↑rigor, ↑rigour, ↑rigorousness, ↑rigourousness, ↑inclemency, ↑hardness, ↑stiffness
• Derivationally related forms:
↑hard (for: ↑hardness), ↑inclement (for: ↑inclemency), ↑rigorous (for: ↑rigorousness), ↑rigorous (for: ↑rigor), ↑harsh (for: ↑harshness), ↑severe, ↑severe (for: ↑severity)
• Hypernyms: ↑sternness, ↑strictness
Useful english dictionary. 2012.