severe

[ suh-veer ]

adjective

, se·ver·er, se·ver·est.

1. harsh; unnecessarily extreme:

   severe criticism; severe laws.

   Antonyms: tolerant, lax, lenient

2. serious or stern in manner or appearance:

   a severe face.

   Synonyms: grim, forbidding, dour, austere, punitive, draconian, rigorous, rigid, heavy-handed, strict

   Antonyms: temperate, mild, benign, gentle

3. threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; grave:

   a severe illness.

4. rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.

   Synonyms: spartan, stark, serious

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.

   Synonyms: exacting, demanding

   Antonyms: facile, effortless, easy

severe

/ sɪˈvɛrɪtɪ; sɪˈvɪə /

adjective

1. rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; strict

   a severe parent

2. serious in appearance or manner; stern
3. critical or dangerous

   a severe illness

4. causing misery or discomfort by its harshness

   severe weather

5. strictly restrained in appearance; austere

   a severe way of dressing

6. hard to endure, perform, or accomplish

   a severe test

7. rigidly precise or exact

Derived Forms

• seˈvereness, noun
• seˈverely, adverb

Other Words From

• se·vere·ly adverb
• se·vere·ness noun
• o·ver·se·vere adjective
• o·ver·se·vere·ness noun
• su·per·se·vere adjective
• su·per·se·vere·ness noun
• un·se·vere adjective
• un·se·vere·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of severe¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity

Word History and Origins

Origin of severe¹

C16: from Latin sevērus

Synonym Study

See stern ¹.

Example Sentences

The coroner told the New York Times that the injuries were so severe that Taylor likely died in less than a minute.

From Vox

The Senate’s biases are largely unintentional but even more severe.

From Vox

Thanks to AMP’s pre-rendering combined with some severe design limitations, AMP webpages often really do win in page speed, even if not in ranking as is.

From Search Engine Watch

The company switched to household size-based billing in Monterey during a severe water shortage and that kind of issue didn’t crop up for San Diego area customers, Tilden said.

From Voice of San Diego

This problem is the most severe and also the easiest to understand.

From Search Engine Land

Eating disorders, researchers believed, were essentially more severe forms of disordered eating.

From The Daily Beast

Aviation experts across the world experienced severe jaw dropping at this news.

From The Daily Beast

And that realization comes at the cost of severe, public embarrassment for many, including the victim/proposed.

From The Daily Beast

This concern ceased after the Spanish warned of severe punitive measures on the family members of suicides.

From The Daily Beast

“That was the longest, most severe S/M session I have experienced in my thirty-four-year tenure,” she writes in the book.

From The Daily Beast

And a severe, embittered struggle then took place in a heart that seemed strangely divided against itself.

From Project Gutenberg

These dreamy, Madonna-like beauties are the result of the most severe and protracted study.

From Project Gutenberg

She is, however, a severe critic of her own work and is greatly disturbed by indiscriminating praise.

From Project Gutenberg

It occurs in well-marked cases of pernicious anemia and leukemia, and, much less commonly, in very severe symptomatic anemias.

From Project Gutenberg

Pathologically, normoblasts occur in severe symptomatic anemia, leukemia, and pernicious anemia.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acute
• bitter
• dangerous
• drastic
• extreme
• fierce
• heavy
• intense
• punishing
• serious
• sharp
• tough
• violent