Noun

Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.

Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.

(economics) A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.

* {{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=April 23 , author=Angelique Chrisafis , title=François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=He said France clearly wanted to "close one page and open another". He reiterated his opposition to austerity alone as the only way out of Europe's crisis: "My final duty, and I know I'm being watched from beyond our borders, is to put Europe back on the path of growth and employment."}}

(obsolete) Sourness and harshness to the taste.