aus ‧ ter ‧ i ‧ ty /ɔːˈsterəti, ɔːˈsterɪti, ɒ- $ ɒː-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural austerities )
1 . [countable usually plural, uncountable] bad economic conditions in which people do not have much money to spend:
a time of great austerity after the war
the austerities of post-communist Eastern Europe
2 . [uncountable] when a government has a deliberate policy of trying to reduce the amount of money it spends
austerity programme/plan/package
a tough new austerity programme
IMF-backed austerity measures (=reductions in government spending)
3 . [uncountable] the quality of being austere:
a life of austerity