I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a grim/stern expression (= one that shows you are very strict or angry )
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Aunty Kitty looked at us with a stern expression and ordered us indoors.
a stern warning
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I got a stern warning against giving false information to the police.
were made of sterner stuff (= were more determined )
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Surely you’re not going to give up? I thought you were made of sterner stuff .
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
expression
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The Soviet boy stands straight, and salutes us with a stern expression on his face.
stuff
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This time, however, the opposition was made of sterner stuff .
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But it seems to us that hypocrisy should be made of sterner stuff .
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Ann, made of sterner stuff than the rest of her tribe, leapt from the car, determined to fish.
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Miller seemed about to choke on his drink, but Floyd was made of sterner stuff .
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But Bastide was made of sterner stuff .
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She examined little boys as if they were made of much sterner stuff than mere flesh and bone.
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In the years separating the two Great Wars women were made of sterner stuff .
test
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Salisbury returned at the pavilion end: a stern test of nerve, even with immortality beckoning should success by his.
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Now this knowledge will be put to a stern test .
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The sternest test the plane has yet faced.
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What began as a stern test ended as a laugher.
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At 6,352 yards, par 71, it already offers a stern test of technique without being physically onerous.
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Ufford Park offers a stern test without being too physically demanding.
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In September 1297 Wallace and Moray faced their sternest test .
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Rob's trout rod had stood the sternest test .
voice
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From within the universities there were stern voices of anti-vocationalism and resistance to public demands for responsiveness, strengthening the impression.
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A stern voice spoke of the significance of this moment, the victorious Allied forces coming together in Berlin.
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He spoke in a stern voice , nodding to-wards the stairs.
warning
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He gave a stern warning against the dangers of the arms race.
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But he reminded reporters of the stern warnings issued Sunday by Gen.
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The court gave a stern warning against future attempts to scoop it.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be a hard/stern/tough taskmaster
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If self-employment is any guide, the dejobbed worker is likely to be a stern taskmaster .
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She was a hard taskmaster but a considerably fairer one than la Belle Ethel.
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True to his word, he schooled her in horsemanship and was a hard taskmaster .
under the (watchful/stern etc) eye of sb
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He flashed his security pass under the eyes of the two armed guards posted beside the exit door.
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The hoopla also continued well into the night outside the casinos under the eyes of Las Vegas police and security guards.
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They act out roles and techniques under the watchful eye of their instructors.
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Thwarted, he then embraced her stiffly before taking the baby in his arms under the watchful eye of his wife.
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Today, the Reichardt duck farm is run under the watchful eye of Jim Reichardt, great grandson of the original founder.
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Voice over Back at the Young Telegraph, their final copy is put together under the watchful eye of a full-time reporter.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a stern judge
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Her grandfather was a stern man who rarely smiled.
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Sheila walked into the museum, under the stern gaze of the curator.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A stern judgment indeed, but an accurate one none the less.
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And she had also forgotten the stern lecture she had given herself earlier, she thought despairingly.
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But he reminded reporters of the stern warnings issued Sunday by Gen.
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But Thursday morning beaming managers were replaced by stern security guards who refused to even let workers into the building.
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Sundram insisted the act was a reasonable response to the stern anti-drug law approved under then Gov.
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The uniforms were different but the faces were the same: narrow and stern with a hint of cruelty in the eyes.
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This time, however, the opposition was made of sterner stuff.
II. noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Marina was sat in the stern , the wind moving her hair as she looked out over the water.
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The boy had backed out of the stern .
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The waves which lapped over the stern of the raft were our waste-disposal system.
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There was a mass of shipping in the port, small skiffs, boats, the huge heavy-bottomed sterns of Hanseatic merchantmen.
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Water Gypsy shuddered from bow to stern .