severe

[ suh-veer ]

/ səˈvɪər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR severe ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

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

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.

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ANTONYMS FOR severe

1 lenient.

2 gentle.

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Related forms

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 severe

And that realization comes at the cost of severe, public embarrassment for many, including the victim/proposed.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die|Tauriq Moosa|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This concern ceased after the Spanish warned of severe punitive measures on the family members of suicides.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|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.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The new term denotes a spectrum of problem drinking that can range from mild to moderate to severe.
Americans Drink Too Much, But We’re Not All Alcoholics|Gabrielle Glaser|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And while such a severe punishment is questioned every few years, it works.
How UVA Is Failing Its Women|Allison McNearney|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is here, adorning, by a life of severe simplicity and divine benevolence, the doctrine he has espoused.
Aurelian|William Ware
The Roman conquest accelerated the decline in severe taste, when different orders began to be used indiscriminately.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume III|John Lord
Gerald had a severe attack of pneumonia, from which we had much ado to bring him back to health, and Rough was ill.
Happy Days for Boys and Girls|Various
But what had been the severe emotional disturbance for Arkalion?
Voyage To Eternity|Milton Lesser
But just then Mrs. Ogilvie gave Helen Douglas so severe a push with her foot, that she stopped, and got very red.
Daddy's Girl|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for severe

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 Formsseverely, 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

Word Origin and History for severe

severe

adj.

1540s, from Middle French severe (12c., Modern French sévère) or directly from Latin severus "serious, grave, strict, austere" (see severity). From 1660s with reference to styles or tastes; from 1725 of diseases.

severe

adjective, se·ver·er, se·ver·est.

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Origin of severe

Examples from the Web for severe

British Dictionary definitions for severe

severe

adjective

Word Origin for severe

Word Origin and History for severe

severe