stern

It’s fair to assume many of us require a stern talking-to, like dogs who need their pills hidden inside the cheese that is Cruise’s Mr. Movies persona.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

First, Newton said, it’s hard to make a businesses on the border of California and Nevada choose California, with its higher taxes and stern regulatory environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Sean and Jenny Taggart, 40-something Philadelphia residents on a camping sojourn through nearby Acadia National Park, had their binoculars fixed on puffins swimming off the stern of the tour boat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The stern and central section appear to have been covered with the same material, while researchers identified three distinct coating batches at the bow.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Brother Ugo was weaving through the crowd calmly, but his face was stern.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Boats have toppled pilings, and hard landings have cracked sterns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Navy said Revolutionary Guard vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of several American ships at close range and high speed in the northern Gulf.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 22, 2020

With the sterns half-ashore, breakers could then cut in and dismantle the ships laterally, as a snacker might eat through a baguette.

From The Guardian ● May 2, 2017

Thousands of office workers rush past it every day without noticing its three bay windows carved as the sterns of baroque frigates, complete with waves, dolphins and trailing seaweed.

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2015

Young men in uniforms stood ready there to grab hold of the sterns of the boats when they arrived for the start.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Wach has lost seven of his past 10 fights and is a significant underdog on paper, but Fury insisted the veteran presents a sterner test than Joshua's opponent, Albanian Prenga.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

With his latest, “Kontinental ’25,” Jude — who also put out a coarsely wacky version of “Dracula” last year — shifts away from clownishness and toward a sterner register of concern for society.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

Rosenior will face a sterner test in his first home game on Wednesday when Chelsea host Premier League leaders Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg.

From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026

But it remains to be seen whether this president and the country he leads are ready for the sterner tests to come.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

Yet he felt in his heart that Faramir, though he was much like his brother in looks, was a man less self-regarding, both sterner and wiser.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

The blockage in the Persian Gulf poses the sternest test the reserves have ever faced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

The Islamic Republic's system faces its sternest test.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

PSG come into the sternest test yet of their European title defence top of the French Ligue 1 and with three wins from three so far in the league phase.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025

In death penalty cases, the legal system is put to its sternest test.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025

The day’s adventures had made Penelope feel rather bold, and she spoke in her sternest and most Swanburnian tone.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood