severe

[ suh-veer ]

/ səˈvɪər /

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.

Words nearby severe

severally, severalty, severance, severance pay, severance tax, severe, severe acute respiratory syndrome, severe combined immune deficiency, severe combined immunodeficiency, severinus, severity

Origin of severe

1540–50; < Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity

SYNONYMS FOR severe

2 strict, hard. See stern¹.

4 unadorned.

7 demanding, exacting.

ANTONYMS FOR severe

1 lenient.

2 gentle.

OTHER WORDS FROM severe

se·vere·ly, adverbse·vere·ness, nouno·ver·se·vere, adjectiveo·ver·se·vere·ly, adverb

o·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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for severer

A disease of a somewhat similar, but severer type, has for many years prevailed in Ceylon.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 315, January 14, 1882|Various
The sixth was of course a householder, a circumstance that made the town's punishment all the severer.
The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore|John R. Hutchinson
The less distinguished writers were, of course, severer still against the critics.
Their Majesties' Servants (Volume 1 of 3)|John Doran
In New York, where the frosts of winter are severer than in England, it is cultivated out of doors.
Cactus Culture For Amateurs|W. Watson

Yet among the churches of the Reformation a milder and a severer view prevailed regarding the apocrypha.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for severer

severe

/ (sɪˈvɪə) /

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 forms of severe

severely, 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