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:
A company spokeswoman defended the steps Anthropic has taken as necessary to ensure models are safe and that adversaries can’t use them to create severe risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
On land, Japan is experiencing a severe heatwave with thousands of people needing hospital treatment over a week.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
They provide California with a significant share of its water, but they can also produce severe flooding and widespread damage.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
And I know they share that concern, but maybe it’s not the same degree of concern, because they don’t understand the illness and how severe it can become.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
She was trying on her latest disguise—a dowdy gown of dull gray—and her hair was swept back in a severe bun with just a few curls loose at the temples.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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
All cases demanding severer treatment are relegated to the Guernsey Courts.
From Legal Lore Curiosities of Law and Lawyers by Various
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
For about 700 of these patients who have the severest form of the disease, the limited options were based around intravenous drugs.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024
Heat-related illness ranges from heat exhaustion, which causes heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, to heatstroke, which causes confusion, loss of consciousness, high fever, and in many of the severest cases even death.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 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.
