sternness
Unyielding facial expression
Sternness is the quality of being stern—serious, strict, and unyielding.
It suggests firmness without warmth: the sternness in her voice made the children fall silent.
Sternness may be a permanent disposition or a temporary demeanor adopted for effect: He softened his usual sternness when speaking to the grieving widow.
Inflexibility in enforcement
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- stringencySeverity of requirements
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
punishment · reprimand · admonishment · correction · rebuke · firmness · inflexibility · unbendingness
Intensity of sternness
- harshnessUnsparing quality or manner
- grimnessStern, forbidding quality
- coldnessLow temperature state
- dournessSullen, severe temperament
humorlessness · stoniness · iciness · aloofness · unfriendliness · gruffness · brusqueness · curtness
Mutual mass attraction
- seriousnessEarnest, weighty demeanor
- solemnitySerious, dignified quality
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- rectitudeMoral straightness
uprightness · probity · puritanism · asceticism · self-denial · abstemiousness · temperance · sobriety
Resistance to deformation
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- steadfastnessFirm loyal dedication
- resolutenessFirmness of purpose
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
fortitude · willpower · backbone · grit · unyieldingness · implacability · intransigence · obstinacy
strictness
Inflexibility in enforcement
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- stringencySeverity of requirements
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
enforcement · punishment · reprimand · admonishment · correction · rebuke · firmness · inflexibility · unbendingness · zero-tolerance
severity
Intensity of sternness
dourness · humorlessness · stoniness · iciness · aloofness · unfriendliness · gruffness · brusqueness · curtness · frostiness
gravity
Mutual mass attraction
- seriousnessEarnest, weighty demeanor
- solemnitySerious, dignified quality
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
rectitude · uprightness · probity · puritanism · asceticism · self-denial · abstemiousness · temperance · sobriety · propriety
firmness
Resistance to deformation
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- steadfastnessFirm loyal dedication
- resolutenessFirmness of purpose
tenacity · fortitude · willpower · backbone · grit · unyieldingness · implacability · intransigence · obstinacy · stubbornness
- unfriendlinessunfriendliness, coldness, hostility, rudeness, aloofness
- harshnessseverity, roughness, sharpness, hardness, rigor
- intimidation traitsaggression, dominance, hostility, ruthlessness, fierceness
- seriousnessgravity, solemnity, earnestness, gravitas, severity
- strictnessseverity, rigor, harshness, rigidity, inflexibility
- parentinggentle parenting, child, mom, children, kids
sternnessgentleness
Soft, kind demeanor
softness · kindness · warmth · mildness · tenderness
sternnessleniency
Mildness in punishment
lenience · indulgence · permissiveness · laxness · tolerance
sternnesstenderness
Gentle, caring quality
warmth · gentleness · kindness · affection · lovingness
stern, austere, austerity, sternly, astern, austerely, sternest, sterner, austereness