adjective severer, severest
- harsh, strict, or highly critical, as in treatment; unsparing; stern
- serious or grave; forbidding, as in expression or manner
- serious or grievous: a severe wound
- conforming strictly to a rule, method, standard, etc.; rigidly accurate or demanding: a severe philosophy
- extremely plain or simple; unornamented; restrained: a dress with severe lines
- keen; extreme; intense: severe pain
- difficult; rigorous; trying: a severe test
Origin:
< MFr < OFr < L severus, prob. < se-, apart (see secede) + IE base *wer-, (to be) friendly > OE wær, faith, pledge, bond (of friendship)