stern
English · Français · Deutsch · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
stern¹
- /stɜːn/ UK
- /stɝn/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)n
Where it comes from
From Middle English stern, sterne, sturne, from Old English styrne (“stern, grave, strict, austere, hard, severe, cruel”), from Proto-Germanic *sturnijaz (“angry, astonished, shocked”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“rigid, stiff”). Cognate with Scots stern (“bold, courageous, fierce, resolute”), Old High German stornēn (“to be astonished”), Dutch stuurs (“glum, austere”), Swedish stursk (“insolent”).
adjective sterner · sternest · sterne
- Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. stern sex
-
Grim and forbidding in appearance.
The remark earned me a stern rebuke.
Similar: bleak, sombre, cheerless, comfortless, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful
Similar: brutal, callous, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, thick-skinned, flint-hearted, forbidding, frosty, grim, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, harsh, humorless, icy, iron-hearted, insensitive, marble-hearted, rigorous, rockhearted, severe, stern, stonehearted, stony · Opposite: animated, cheerful, emotional, empathic, gregarious, kindly, lenient, soft, unstrict, vivacious
stern²
- /stɜːn/ UK
- /stɝn/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)n
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English sterne, likely from Old Norse stjórn (“control, steering”), related to stýra (“to steer”), from Proto-Germanic *stiurijaną, whence also English steer. Also possibly from Old Frisian stiarne (“rudder”), from the same Germanic root. The sense referring to a management post alludes to the fact that a sailing ship's captain would often stand on an aft deck.
noun sterns · sterne
-
The rear part (after end) of a ship or other vessel.
Holonyms: watercraft < vessel
Similar: aft, poop · Opposite: bow, stem, forestem, fore, prow, prore
- The post of management or direction. and sit chiefest stern of public weal
- The hinder part of anything.
- The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. And all attonce her beaſtly bodie raizd / With doubled forces high aboue the ground: / Tho wrapping vp her wrethed ſterne arownd, / Lept fierce vpon his ſhield, [...]
verb sterns · sterning · sterned · sterne
- To steer, to direct the course of (a ship).
- To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water.
stern³
- /stɜːn/ UK
- /stɝn/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)n
Where it comes from
From a variant of tern.
noun sterns · sterne
- A bird, the black tern, seabird.
Stern⁴
Where it comes from
* As a German and Jewish surname, from the noun Stern (“star”). This was also borrowed into various Slavic languages such as Serbo-Crotian and Slovenian.
* As an English surname, from the adjective stern.
proper noun Sterns · Sterne
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: austere, demanding, strict, grim, exacting, unforgiving, prat, relentless, unrelenting, implacable, inexorable, unappeasable, can, nonindulgent, behind, tail end
adjective
Similar: brutal, callous, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, thick-skinned, flint-hearted, forbidding, frosty, grim, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, harsh, humorless, icy, iron-hearted, insensitive, marble-hearted, rigorous, rockhearted, severe, stern, stonehearted, stony · Opposite: animated, cheerful, emotional, empathic, gregarious, kindly, lenient, soft, unstrict, vivacious
Translations
Every language
adj having a hardness and severity of nature or manner
| Español | adusto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 厳格な genkaku na |
| Português | severo, austero, rígido, sério |
| Français | sévère |
| Deutsch | streng, hart, bitter, unnachgiebig, ernst, unnachsichtig |
| Italiano | austero, severo, duro, rigido |
| Ελληνικά | αυστηρός afstirós |
| Română | dur, sever |
| Русский | стро́гий strógij, суро́вый suróvyj |
| العربية | صَارِم ṣārim, مُتَشَدِّد mutašaddid |
adj grim and forbidding in appearance
| Español | adusto |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 荘厳な sōgon na |
| Français | austère |
| Deutsch | düster, unfreundlich, abweisend, abschreckend |
| Italiano | arcigno, inflessibile |
| Ελληνικά | βλοσυρός vlosyrós |
| Русский | мра́чный mráčnyj |
noun the rear part or after end of a ship or vessel
| Español | popa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 선미 seonmi, 고물 gomul |
| 日本語 | 船尾 senbi, 艫 tomo |
| 中文 | 船尾 chuánwěi, 舳 zhú |
| हिन्दी | दुंबाल dumbāl, दबूसा dabūsā, पिच्छल picchal, पिछाड़ी pichāṛī |
| Kiswahili | shetri, tezi |
| Português | popa |
| Français | poupe, arrière |
| Deutsch | Heck, Schiffshinterteil, Hinterschiff |
| Italiano | poppa |
| Ελληνικά | πρύμνη prýmni |
| Русский | корма́ kormá |
| العربية | مُؤَخَّرَة muʔaḵḵara |
Talk about this word "stern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/stern. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. stern. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/stern "stern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/stern.Cite this
@misc{stern_2026,
title = {stern},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/stern},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
