Associations to the word «Sternness»

Wiktionary

STERNNESS, noun. (uncountable) The state or quality of being stern.
STERNNESS, noun. (countable) The result or product of being stern.

Dictionary definition

STERNNESS, noun. The quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding; "the sternness of his surroundings made him uncomfortable".
STERNNESS, noun. Uncompromising resolution.

Wise words

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.