'Sternness' definitions:

Definition of 'sternness'

From: WordNet
noun
The quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding; "the sternness of his surroundings made him uncomfortable"
noun
Uncompromising resolution [syn: sternness, strictness]

Definition of 'Sternness'

From: GCIDE
  • Sternness \Stern"ness\, n. The quality or state of being stern. [1913 Webster]