severe

[suh-veer]

adjective, se·ver·er, se·ver·est.

harsh; unnecessarily extreme: severe criticism; severe laws.

serious or stern in manner or appearance: a severe face.

grave; critical: 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.

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

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. 2019

Related Words for severer

serious, relentless, harsh, strict, heavy, acute, drastic, stringent, tough, punishing, dangerous, violent, fierce, sharp, bitter, intense, extreme, astringent, austere, biting

Examples from the Web for severer

Historical Examples of severer

Many a severer sarcasm would not have cut so deeply into me.
That Boy Of Norcott's
Charles James Lever
They must not be suffered to interfere with your severer studies.
Advice to a Young Man upon First Going to Oxford
Edward Berens
Nor in her poverty does she refuse the severer labors of the garden and the field.
Life of Schamyl
John Milton Mackie
Sometimes I think it is my fault; I was born in a severer age.
White Lies
Charles Reade
But this was evidently only a prelude to a severer rehearsal.
Flip: A California Romance
Bret Harte

British Dictionary definitions for severer

severe

adjective

rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; stricta severe parent

serious in appearance or manner; stern

critical or dangerousa severe illness

causing misery or discomfort by its harshnesssevere weather

strictly restrained in appearance; austerea severe way of dressing

hard to endure, perform, or accomplisha severe test

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 severer

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.