severe
Americanadjective
-
harsh; unnecessarily extreme.
severe criticism; severe laws.
-
serious or stern in manner or appearance.
a severe face.
- Synonyms:
- grim, forbidding, dour, austere, punitive, draconian, rigorous, rigid, heavy-handed, strict
-
threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; grave.
a severe illness.
-
rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.
-
causing discomfort or distress by extreme character or conditions, as weather, cold, or heat; unpleasantly violent, as rain or wind, or a blow or shock.
-
difficult to endure, perform, fulfill, etc..
a severe test of his powers.
-
rigidly exact, accurate, or methodical.
severe standards.
- Antonyms:
- facile, effortless, easy
adjective
-
rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; strict
a severe parent
-
serious in appearance or manner; stern
-
critical or dangerous
a severe illness
-
causing misery or discomfort by its harshness
severe weather
-
strictly restrained in appearance; austere
a severe way of dressing
-
hard to endure, perform, or accomplish
a severe test
-
rigidly precise or exact
Synonym Usage
See stern 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of severe
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity
Explanation
Whether you're talking about a punishment, the weather, or how bad your flu is, severe indicates that it's at the limit of the spectrum. The austerity of a word like severe serves many purposes. The common usage is to describe tough or painful stuff, like icy snowstorms, merciless punishments, or grim conditions (e.g., a severe depression). If things are severe, they're serious. Severe could also describe a person's haircut if it's brutally short and angular, or their wardrobe if it tends to be all black with no flourishes.
Vocabulary lists containing severe
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Combined Air Operations Center has sustained severe damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Most of Puerto Rico is facing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor, which has been compounded by long-term issues with the island's infrastructure.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Even some places that had severe repopulation issues are now clear of tents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
In testing, the material retained 85% of its performance after 150,000 severe voltage cycles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
There was something purposefully severe and offhanded in Franklin’s manner of speaking; she delivered her lecture as if reading the Soviet evening news.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Oscars’ viewership woes are severer and more clear-cut: Last year’s broadcast saw a 58 percent drop in viewership from 2020, according to Nielsen.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 18, 2022
The Morgan has got the Frick Collection’s portrait of Thomas More, while Los Angeles got the Frick’s severer portrait of Thomas Cromwell; neither has been seen among other Holbeins in a century.
From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2022
This year is predicted to be severer still, with economists forecasting a downswing of between 7% and 11% - unparalleled anywhere in Latin America save Venezuela.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 16, 2019
Past generations of Americans have faced and overcome severer tests.
From MSNBC ● Jan. 16, 2018
In the second century the Church vastly increased in the number of her faithful and in her influence; at the same time she was exposed to much severer attacks from within and without.
From Church and State as Seen in the Formation of Christendom by Allies, T. W. (Thomas William)
For almost 20 years, NI Water has been protected from the severest pollution fines because of a special arrangement that acknowledges its outdated and underfunded infrastructure.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
You’d think that Deborah, the seasoned comedian who has weathered the severest industry toxicity imaginable, would appreciate that about Ava.
From Salon ● May 2, 2024
A global authority on food security said that in the coming months, as many as 1.1 million people in Gaza could face the severest levels of hunger.
From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2024
The severest damage has been concentrated in South Korea’s central and southern regions.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 16, 2023
The pile of bricks Claire hid behind shielded her from the severest heat and most of the flying debris.
From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
