Question

The austere room, grim and poorly lighted, reflected the personality of the stern doctor. what words help the reader to understand the word austere?

Answer 1

If we are going to search the meaning of the word "austere" in the dictionary or any reliable sources, we will see that this means severe or strict in manner or unemotional, etc. From the words used in the sentence, another word that has similar meaning to the word "austere" is the word "stern". Thus, the answer to this item is stern. 

Answer 2

The words that help the reader to understand the word austere are Grim, Poorly lighted, stern

Explanation:

The definition of austere is a place or a person that is extremely too simple to point of not being pleasant to the sight, it could make reference to a place or a person that is poorly attractive and maybe a little depressing, all the words that help to understand the meaning of the word are synonyms of it.