severity

American  

[suh-ver-i-tee] / səˈvɛr ɪ ti /

noun

• severities
  plural

1. harshness, sternness, or rigor.

   Their lives were marked by severity.

2. austere simplicity, as of style, manner, or taste.

   The severity of the decor was striking.

3. intensity or sharpness, as of cold or pain.

4. grievousness; hard or trying character or effect.

   The severity of his loss was finally becoming apparent.

5. rigid exactness or accuracy.

6. an instance of strict or severe behavior, punishment, etc.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonseverity
  noun
• overseverity
  noun
• superseverity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• severities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of severity

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin sevēritās, from sevēr(us) severe + -itās -ity

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Explanation

Severity is a plain, no-frills hardness––or the degree of hardness. You might talk about the severity of the northern winter, or the severity of your grandfather's discipline. Severity, with its root in severe, has several nuances. It can mean a hardship, like war’s severity. It also refers to an extreme plainness. Think of the severity of Amish life: no phones, cars, or other modern technology. And you might use it to describe your math teacher’s manner: his severity is indicated by his short, clipped sentences, angry stare, and propensity to fail students without mercy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

severity severities

As a former athlete who balanced working eight-hour shifts with training before turning professional, she says she has "known fatigue my whole life" and believes the term fails to capture the severity of the illness.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Symptoms may first emerge during infancy, childhood, or adulthood, and their severity and progression can differ depending on when the condition begins.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

The severity of what was being reported, Manning added, should have served as a call to launch a deeper investigation that might have turned up additional facts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Due to the potential severity here, approximately 200 people have also been placed under medical observation in Irkutsk, a region in eastern Siberia, and some hospitals have been placed under quarantine.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

The severity of shock is reflected in 17-hydroxycortico- steroid levels comparable to those in schizophrenic patients in incipient psychosis, which exceed levels in other stressful situations.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Tailoring these materials could offer personalized solutions for various muscle loss severities.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2024

“Now, high general inflation and ever higher increases in used and new car prices clearly drive up claims costs for insurers, given that claims frequencies and severities are returning to normal.”

From Washington Times ● Feb. 28, 2022

In an untreated forest, what some might see as fuel, others “see as incredible habitat for wildlife because it’s a mosaic of different burn severities that is extraordinarily biodiverse.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2022

Overnight curfew rules of varying severities have been in place since a national state of disaster was declared in late March 2020.

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2021

He knew about as much as was known about the anatomy of the brain and the symptoms and severities of lesion and thrombus.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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Related Words

• harshness

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