The comparative form of austere; more stern, strict, or lacking in comfort than something else.
From austere plus the comparative suffix -er, which compares two things. Austere derives from Latin austerus.
Comparative adjectives like 'austerer' are disappearing in modern English—we increasingly say 'more austere' instead. But 'austerer' survives in formal writing and historical texts, keeping alive the old Germanic way of comparing.
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