STERNLY Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

sternly

adverb

Definition of sternly

as in harshly

in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering sternly reprimanded the prosecuting attorney for making comments that never should have been heard by the jury

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of sternly The aunties who sternly monitor the tables here will take and deliver your order, but please do not expect guidance or friendship. — Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 11 May 2026 Did DeSantis call Uthmeier on the carpet and sternly instruct him to follow the law? — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2026 This folly—which Iran has sternly warned against—is immoral, unjustified, and unlawful. — Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025 The lawsuit comes days after Austin voters sternly rejected a 20% property tax increase as the city struggles to overcome a budget deficit. — Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 6 Nov. 2025 That church, by the way, is of the sternly Evangelical variety, and the Gheorghius take it very seriously indeed. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 May 2026 After sternly addressing the company executives who put the city through a year-long court battle, the Leavenworth Planning Commission on Monday evening voted 5-1 to recommend granting CoreCivic’s zoning application to operate for at least three years. — Matthew Kelly february 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2026 Sulmona gave the Catholic world a pope, Innocent VII in the 15th century, but Piazza XX Settembre is the location of Sulmona’s foremost historical figure, the greatest of all Roman poets, Ovid, whose bronze statue stands sternly atop a pedestal. — John Mariani, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sternly

Adverb

Overthinking and procrastination are two of the habits people confess to most readily and blame on themselves most harshly, and two of the habits most often misread.

— Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
That can be useful because jurors can be more reluctant to sentence a woman harshly, writes Victor Streib, a law professor at Elon University in North Carolina who has researched the treatment of women on death row.

— Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 29 June 2026

Definition of harshly

Adverb

Atmos is already facing a lawsuit over the explosion from a resident who was severely burned.

— Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Nearby Elephant Butte Lake, a draw for outdoorsy tourists, is so severely drought-depleted that sunbaked fish carcasses line its shores.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026

Definition of severely

Adverb

The oppressively hot and steamy weather was no deterrent for the crowds that lined up along Crandon Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate America’s independence at Key Biscayne’s 67th Fourth of July parade.

— Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.

— Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026