severe Hear it!

severe Definition

se·vere (sə vir′)

adjective -·ver′er, -·ver′·est

  1. harsh, strict, or highly critical, as in treatment; unsparing; stern
  2. serious or grave; forbidding, as in expression or manner
  3. serious or grievous a severe wound
  4. conforming strictly to a rule, method, standard, etc.; rigidly accurate or demanding a severe philosophy
  5. extremely plain or simple; unornamented; restrained a dress with severe lines
  6. keen; extreme; intense severe pain
  7. difficult; rigorous; trying a severe test

Etymology: < MFr < OFr < L severus, prob. < se-, apart (see secede) + IE base *wer-, (to be) friendly > OE wær, faith, pledge, bond (of friendship)

severe Related Forms

se·vere′ly adverb se·vere′·ness noun

severe Synonyms

severe

modif.

  1. Stern

    stern, exacting, uncompromising, unbending, inflexible, unchanging, unalterable, inexorable, harsh, cruel, oppressive, close, grinding, peremptory, obdurate, resolute, austere, rigid, grim, earnest, stiff, forbidding, resolved, relentless, strait-laced, determined, unfeeling, insensate, with an iron will, strict, inconsiderate, firm, immovable, as firm as the Rock of Gibraltar, adamant, unyielding.

    Antonyms flexible*, yielding*, genial. *

  2. Difficult or rigorous

    overbearing, tyrannical, mordant, sharp, exacting, stringent, drastic, domineering, rigid, oppressive, despotic, unmerciful, bullying, uncompromising, obdurate, relentless, unrelenting, hard, rigorous, austere, grinding, ascetic, grim, implacable, cruel, pitiless, critical, unjust, barbarous, censorious, crusty, gruff, crabbed, unmitigated, intractable, stubborn, autocratic, Draconian, with a heart of granite, stony-hearted, hard-shell*, rock-ribbed*, hidebound*; see also difficult 1.

    Antonyms easy*, easygoing*, indulgent.

severe applies to a person or thing that is strict, uncompromising, or restrained and connotes a total absence of softness, laxity, frivolity, etc. a severe critic, hairdo, etc. and may often imply harshness severe punishment, a severe tornado; stern implies an unyielding firmness, esp. as manifested in a grim or forbidding aspect or manner a stern guardian; austere suggests harsh restraint, self-denial, stark simplicity the austere diet of wartime, or an absence of warmth, passion, ornamentation, etc. an austere bedroom; ascetic implies extreme self-denial and self-discipline or even, sometimes, the deliberate self-infliction of pain and discomfort, as by religious fanatics an ascetic hermit

severe Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • exceptionally: Cold Weather Payments - Payment made during a period of exceptionally severe weather to vulnerable households on Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
  • unusually: Each of the target countries has experienced unusually severe climatic conditions in recent years, often with life-changing consequences.
  • particularly: Education The impact of AIDS is particularly severe on children's education.
  • quite: With some chemotherapy drugs, it can be quite severe.
  • potentially: The people are already extremely vulnerable and any military action could exacerbate this, with potentially severe and lasting humanitarian consequences.
  • unduly: Even when you're on his side, the tone sometimes feels unduly severe.

Infinitive complement

  • interfere: Up to 15 % of women have period pains severe enough to interfere with their daily activities.
  • require: Frequently bleeding may be severe enough to require transfusion despite local treatment such as cautery, estrogen therapy or even catheter thromboembolism.
  • affect: The condition is not infectious and is not usually severe enough to affect general health.

Modifies a noun

  • pain: The proportion with severe pain on movement fell from 37 % to 12 % .
  • illness: The virus caused severe respiratory illness in 18 people, 6 of whom died.
  • impairment: People with a severe impairment or who are totally blind may rely on screen reading software to access Web information.
  • headache: A dramatic increase in blood pressure occurs, causing symptoms such as severe headache and sweating.
  • depression: The Novice was admitted to Hospital for two nights, suffering from severe depression.
  • shortage: The early 1960s had seen severe food shortages across the whole of India.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: They occur more frequently or become more severe during times of emotional stress.
  • seem: The concept of hell and its eternal fires seems too severe a punishment for any arbitrary decision.
  • cause: The " glue " keeping the skin together present in normal births is missing causing severe blistering either spontaneously or at the slightest friction.
  • have: I had severe Chicken Pox, which I caught from my son Matthew, prior to the conception of my second son, Henry.
  • get: If the stress gets too severe, the body suffers overload and locks the stress into itself in lines of tension and contraction.