Dictionary.com
definitions

severe

[suh-veer]
See more synonyms for severe on Thesaurus.com
adjective, se·ver·er, se·ver·est.
  1. harsh; unnecessarily extreme: severe criticism; severe laws.
  2. serious or stern in manner or appearance: a severe face.
  3. grave; critical: a severe illness.
  4. rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.
  5. 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.
  6. difficult to endure, perform, fulfill, etc.: a severe test of his powers.
  7. rigidly exact, accurate, or methodical: severe standards.

Origin of severe

1540–50; < Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity
Related formsse·vere·ly, adverbse·vere·ness, nouno·ver·se·vere, adjectiveo·ver·se·vere·ly, adverbo·ver·se·vere·ness, nounsu·per·se·vere, adjectivesu·per·se·vere·ly, adverbsu·per·se·vere·ness, nounun·se·vere, adjectiveun·se·vere·ly, adverbun·se·vere·ness, noun

Synonyms for severe

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
2. strict, hard. See stern1. 4. unadorned. 7. demanding, exacting.

Antonyms for severe

1. lenient. 2. gentle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for severely

badly, sharply, sorely, strictly, markedly, seriously, dangerously, firmly, extremely, acutely, painfully, critically, sternly, hard, gravely, hardly, intensely, roughly, rigorously

Examples from the Web for severely

Contemporary Examples of severely

Historical Examples of severely

  • I will not punish your fault so severely as Alcibiades ventured to hope.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • Mr. Disraeli was severely sarcastic at the expense of the government.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • It censured Mrs. McKee severely for having been, so to speak, and accessory after the fact.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • "It is certainly unchristian," commented Mrs. Porter, severely.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The 24th Punjaub Infantry on the left were the most severely engaged.

British Dictionary definitions for severely

severe

adjective
  1. rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; stricta severe parent
  2. serious in appearance or manner; stern
  3. critical or dangerousa severe illness
  4. causing misery or discomfort by its harshnesssevere weather
  5. strictly restrained in appearance; austerea severe way of dressing
  6. hard to endure, perform, or accomplisha severe test
  7. rigidly precise or exact
Derived Formsseverely, adverbsevereness or severity (sɪˈvɛrɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for severe

C16: from Latin sevērus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for severely
adv.

1540s, from severe + -ly (2). Colloquial sense of "excessively" attested by 1854.

severe

adj.

1540s, from Middle French severe (12c., Modern French sévère) or directly from Latin severus "serious, grave, strict, austere" (see severity). From 1660s with reference to styles or tastes; from 1725 of diseases.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper