sever

American  

[sev-er] / ˈsɛv ər /

verb (used with object)

• severs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• severed,
  past participle,  past
• severing
  present participle

1. to separate (a part) from the whole, as by cutting or the like.

2. to divide into parts, especially forcibly; cleave.

3. to break off or dissolve (ties, relations, etc.).

4. Law. to divide into parts; disunite (an estate, titles of a statute, etc.).

5. to distinguish; discriminate between.

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verb (used without object)

• severs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• severed,
  past participle,  past
• severing
  present participle

1. to become separated from each other; become divided into parts.

sever British  

/ ˈsɛvə /

verb

1. to put or be put apart; separate

2. to divide or be divided into parts

3. (tr) to break off or dissolve (a tie, relationship, etc)

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• severing
  present
• severed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sever
  simple
• severs
  simple
• have severed
  perfect
• has severed
  perfect
• am severing
  progressive
• are severing
  progressive
• is severing
  progressive
• have been severing
  perfect progressive
• has been severing
  perfect progressive

Past

• severed
  simple
• had severed
  perfect
• was severing
  progressive
• were severing
  progressive
• had been severing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sever
  simple
• will have severed
  perfect
• will be severing
  progressive
• will have been severing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sever

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English severen, from Middle French sev(e)rer; see separate

Explanation

To sever something is to cut it off from the whole. If your girlfriend breaks up with you on your anniversary, you might respond by severing the blossoms off the roses you were planning to give her. (Just an idea.) Sever rhymes with ever, but it looks like the word severe, which means "harsh." The similarity between sever and severe is a good reminder to reserve sever for harsh, unpleasant circumstances. If you’re trimming your fingernails, you might use the word clip, but sever wouldn’t be appropriate. If, however, you somehow cut off your finger while clipping your fingernails, you’re free to use the word sever — or any other word you like — on your way to the hospital.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sever severs severed severing

Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and shut its embassy in Asmara, while Eritrea responded that it would "sever all diplomatic ties".

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The Treasury last month moved to sever the Emirati branch of a state-owned Egyptian bank from its correspondent accounts at several large U.S. banks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The U.S. border with Mexico represents a political borderline but it cannot sever many decades of complicated history and culture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

And as landslides sever access roads and supplies dwindle in several parts of the island, there are growing concerns about how much longer survivors can hold out.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Mom told him she didn’t want him to sever his ties with the club on my account, but he said he didn’t care.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Adoption should be pursued as a last resort, the government and adoption organisations have told us, because, while it offers stability, it also severs the legal relationship between the child and its birth family forever.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

For LGBTQ+ Christians, it can be a spiritual one, a forced concealment that severs them from authentic relationships with communities they love and were raised in, and with God.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

“The Last of Us” “There’s nothing smarter than ‘Severance,’ a dystopian thriller where employees of the secretive Lumon Industries undergo a surgical procedure that mentally severs their work memories from their personal life.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025

It follows workers at a megacorporation who submit to a procedure that severs their work memories from their personal ones, and it gets wildly weird.

From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025

In the Greek myth of Prometheus the gift of fire forever severs humankind from the natural world—the burning torch is the icon of the constructed and artificial.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

But in a rare interview with the BBC before diplomatic relations were severed, Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel rejected the accusations.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

KAMPALA, Uganda—Ethiopia severed diplomatic relations with Eritrea on Thursday, hours after drones attacked targets in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

While that was good for pedestrians, it cut off the White House and symbolically severed it from public access — you could no longer drive by and wave.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

“They severed ties with us. We completely understand that position and this is a situation no one wants to be in,” Kendrick said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

But now, their black-speckled corpses were severed from their roots, plucked from the earth one by one.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

A shipping disaster in 2021 shows how blocking the strait — and thus severing a link to the Mediterranean Sea — could harm global commerce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

“If you say that, you risk severing your relationship with your parent.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

In a statement released Wednesday, Cuba's central bank said a foreign bank was severing ties with Fincimex S.A.,

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

"Yet ongoing clashes are driving mass displacement, pushing exposed contacts into overcrowded camps and severing critical containment corridors," he added.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

My hand jerks; the shears snap shut, severing the stem.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• abandon
• break off
• dissolve
• put an end to
• separate
• terminate