Austere vs. Dour — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Austere and Dour
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Definitions
Austere
Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave
The austere figure of a Puritan minister.
Dour
Dour is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 16,810 inhabitants.
Austere
Strict or severe in discipline; ascetic
A desert nomad's austere life.
Dour
Marked by sternness or harshness; forbidding
A dour, self-sacrificing life.
Austere
Having no adornment or ornamentation; bare
An austere style.
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Dour
Silently ill-humored; gloomy
The proverbially dour New England Puritan.
Austere
Grim or severe in manner or appearance
The headmistress was an austere old woman.
Dour
Sternly obstinate; unyielding
A dour determination.
Austere
Lacking decoration; trivial; not extravagant or gaudy
The interior of the church was as austere as the parishioners were dour.
Dour
Stern, harsh and forbidding.
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Austere
Sour and astringent; rough to the state; having acerbity; as, an austere crab apple; austere wine.
Dour
Unyielding and obstinate.
Austere
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.
Dour
Expressing gloom or melancholy.
Austere
Unadorned; unembellished; severely simple.
Dour
Hard; inflexible; obstinate; sour in aspect; hardy; bold.
A dour wife, a sour old carlin.
Austere
Severely simple;
A stark interior
Dour
Stubbornly unyielding;
Dogged persistence
Dour determination
The most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics
A mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it
Men tenacious of opinion
Austere
Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect;
An austere expression
A stern face
Dour
Harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance;
A dour, self-sacrificing life
A forbidding scowl
A grim man loving duty more than humanity
Undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron claw
Austere
Practicing great self-denial;
Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it
A desert nomad's austere life
A spartan diet
A spartan existence
Dour
Showing a brooding ill humor;
A dark scowl
The proverbially dour New England Puritan
A glum, hopeless shrug
He sat in moody silence
A morose and unsociable manner
A saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius
A sour temper
A sullen crowd
