| / English Dictionary |
STERN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The rear part of a ship
Synonyms:
after part; poop; quarter; stern; tail
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("stern" is a kind of...):
back; rear (the side that goes last or is not normally seen)
Meronyms (parts of "stern"):
escutcheon ((nautical) a plate on a ship's stern on which the name is inscribed)
skeg (a brace that extends from the rear of the keel to support the rudderpost)
Holonyms ("stern" is a part of...):
ship (a vessel that carries passengers or freight)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
Example:
are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?
Synonyms:
arse; ass; backside; behind; bottom; bum; buns; butt; buttocks; can; derriere; fanny; fundament; hind end; hindquarters; keister; nates; posterior; prat; rear; rear end; rump; seat; stern; tail; tail end; tooshie; tush
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("stern" is a kind of...):
body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)
Holonyms ("stern" is a part of...):
body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)
Sense 3
Meaning:
United States concert violinist (born in Russia in 1920)
Synonyms:
Isaac Stern; Stern
Classified under:
Instance hypernyms:
fiddler; violinist (a musician who plays the violin)
Domain region:
Russia; Soviet Union; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; USSR (a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Severe and unremitting in making demands
Example:
strict standards
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
demanding (requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill)
Derivation:
sternness (uncompromising resolution)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
Example:
a stern face
Synonyms:
austere; stern
Classified under:
Similar:
nonindulgent; strict (characterized by strictness, severity, or restraint)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
Example:
the stern demands of parenthood
Synonyms:
grim; inexorable; relentless; stern; unappeasable; unforgiving; unrelenting
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
implacable (incapable of being placated)
Derivation:
sternness (uncompromising resolution)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Severely simple
Example:
a stark interior
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
plain (not elaborate or elaborated; simple)
Derivation:
sternness (the quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding)
Context examples:
His Grace sat very stern and upright in his chair and looked stonily at my friend.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A vague thrill ran through me as I listened to my companion’s words and saw the stern gravity which had hardened his features.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
At the stern order the buzz ceased, and fifty pairs of blue, black, gray, and brown eyes were obediently fixed upon his awful countenance.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
At times, so tightly did they draw, the mouth became stern and harsh, even ascetic.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
François was stern, demanding instant obedience, and by virtue of his whip receiving instant obedience; while Dave, who was an experienced wheeler, nipped Buck’s hind quarters whenever he was in error.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
This black hole grew far larger than we expected in only 690 million years after the Big Bang, which challenges our theories about how black holes form, said study co-author Daniel Stern of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
(Most Distant Black Hole, NASA)
I am concerned about this eclipse because Pluto and Saturn—like two stern parents that are determined to put up a united front—will conjoin at the exact degree (20 degrees), and both will oppose the tender moon which falls in your seventh house of partnership and marriage.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Anne was shewn some letters of his on the occasion, answers to urgent applications from Mrs Smith, which all breathed the same stern resolution of not engaging in a fruitless trouble, and, under a cold civility, the same hard-hearted indifference to any of the evils it might bring on her.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Klosh-Kwan recited the information brought by Bim and Bawn, and at its close said in a stern voice: "So explanation is wanted, O Keesh, of thy manner of hunting. Is there witchcraft in it?"
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
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