Meaning of austere

(adj) severely simple; "a stark interior"

of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect; "an austere expression"; "a stern face"

practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad's austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence"