severity

American  

[suh-ver-i-tee] / səˈvɛr ɪ ti /

noun

severities plural

1. harshness, sternness, or rigor.

   Their lives were marked by severity.

2. austere simplicity, as of style, manner, or taste.

   The severity of the decor was striking.

3. intensity or sharpness, as of cold or pain.

4. grievousness; hard or trying character or effect.

   The severity of his loss was finally becoming apparent.

5. rigid exactness or accuracy.

6. an instance of strict or severe behavior, punishment, etc.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonseverity
  noun
• overseverity
  noun
• superseverity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• severities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of severity

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin sevēritās, from sevēr(us) severe + -itās -ity

Explanation

Severity is a plain, no-frills hardness––or the degree of hardness. You might talk about the severity of the northern winter, or the severity of your grandfather's discipline. Severity, with its root in severe, has several nuances. It can mean a hardship, like war’s severity. It also refers to an extreme plainness. Think of the severity of Amish life: no phones, cars, or other modern technology. And you might use it to describe your math teacher’s manner: his severity is indicated by his short, clipped sentences, angry stare, and propensity to fail students without mercy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

severity severities

I say, “This is the gravity or severity of your child’s situation and how serious we need to be about protecting other people.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The FDA, however, doubled down on the severity of the investigation, saying in an X post that the false positive doesn’t change “the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

Available clinical records did not provide enough detail to determine the severity, extent, or duration of the alopecia.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

However, he added that wildfires were "weather-driven events" and the response could change depending on the severity of the temperature and wind.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Gwydion was watching the creature with a look of severity and annoyance.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

War risk cover is organised in seven "buckets" spanning different severities of conflict.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2025

Tailoring these materials could offer personalized solutions for various muscle loss severities.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 24, 2024

“Now, high general inflation and ever higher increases in used and new car prices clearly drive up claims costs for insurers, given that claims frequencies and severities are returning to normal.”

From Washington Times ● Feb. 28, 2022

In an untreated forest, what some might see as fuel, others “see as incredible habitat for wildlife because it’s a mosaic of different burn severities that is extraordinarily biodiverse.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2022

He knew about as much as was known about the anatomy of the brain and the symptoms and severities of lesion and thrombus.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• harshness