solemn vs stern

solemn

adj
  • Deeply serious and sombre; grave. 

  • Characterized by or performed with appropriate or great ceremony or formality. 

  • Of or pertaining to religious ceremonies and rites; (generally) religious in nature; sacred. 

  • Inspiring serious feelings or thoughts; sombrely impressive. 

stern

adj
  • Grim and forbidding in appearance. 

  • Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. 

noun
  • A bird, the black tern. 

  • The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. 

  • The hinder part of anything. 

  • The post of management or direction. 

  • The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. 

verb
  • To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water. 

How often have the words solemn and stern occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )