Stern, a. [Compar.Sterner (?); superl.Sternest.] [OE. sterne, sturne, AS. styrne; cf. D. stuurish stern, Sw. stursk refractory. √166.] Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed; unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as, a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern gaze; a stern decree.
The sterne wind so loud gan to rout. Chaucer.
I would outstare the sternest eyes that look. Shak.
When that the poor have cried, Cæsar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. Shak.
Stern as tutors, and as uncles hard. Dryden.
These barren rocks, your stern inheritance. Wordsworth.
Syn. — Gloomy; sullen; forbidding; strict; unkind; hard-hearted; unfeeling; cruel; pitiless.