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

Some of his performance is recognizably Hansen: the stern mouth, the snarky catchphrases, the swoop of blond bangs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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

I stared into her stern face, the fingers of my left hand turning the picture frame around and around in my skirt pocket.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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

Fireworks can frighten animals and send them scattering, but Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets apparently are made of sterner stuff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

After the seven-time champion produced a statement performance against former top-10 player Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, Djokovic had to overcome a far sterner test on his return to Centre Court.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Much sterner tests lie ahead for Rosenior, starting with a visit from Premier League leaders Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

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

They were both silent, but the Professor started and quivered; his face, however, grew grimmer and sterner still.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

It was probably the sternest test the Americans have faced in the tournament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 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

Elizabeth looks at him over her knitting, sizing him up with narrowed eyes that remind him of his sternest teachers, though he stands much taller than she does.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern