Gruffness
Sternness
Sternness noun - The quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism).
Usage example: the company's new president has a reputation for granitelike sternness and monkish austerity
Gruffness and sternness are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Gruffness" instead a noun "Sternness".
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- vehemence and gruffness
- vehemence and sternness
- severity and gruffness
- severity and sternness
- roughness and gruffness
- roughness and sternness
- sharpness and gruffness
- sharpness and sternness
- tartness and gruffness
- tartness and sternness
- bitterness and gruffness
- bitterness and sternness
- harshness and gruffness
- harshness and sternness
Cite this Source
Sternness and Gruffness. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 02, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/gruffness/sternness
Gruffness & Sternness. N.p., 2016. Web. 02 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/gruffness/sternness>.
Sternness or Gruffness. 2016. Accessed August 02, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/gruffness/sternness.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "gruffness" and "sternness" have occurred on timeline