severe

adj., -ver·er, -ver·est.

1. Unsparing, harsh, or strict, as in treatment of others: a severe critic.
2. Marked by or requiring strict adherence to rigorous standards or high principles: a severe code of behavior.
3. Stern or forbidding, as in manner or appearance: spoke in a severe voice.
4. Extremely plain in substance or style: a severe black dress.
5. Causing great discomfort, damage, or distress: a severe pain; a severe storm.
6. Very dangerous or harmful; grave or grievous: severe mental illness.
7. Extremely difficult to perform or endure; trying: a severe test of our loyalty.

[Latin sevērus, serious, strict.]

severely se·vere'ly adv.
severeness se·vere'ness n.

SYNONYMS  severe, stern, austere, ascetic, strict. These adjectives mean unsparing and exacting with respect to discipline or control. Severe implies adherence to rigorous standards or high principles and often suggests harshness: “Praise or blame has but a momentary effect on the man whose love of beauty in the abstract makes him a severe critic on his own works” (John Keats). Stern suggests unyielding disposition, uncompromising resolution, or forbidding appearance or nature: “a man fatally stern and implacable” (George Meredith). Austere connotes aloofness or lack of feeling or sympathy, and often rigid morality: Austere officers demand meticulous conformity with military regulations. Ascetic suggests self-discipline and often renunciation of worldly pleasures for spiritual improvement: “Be systematically ascetic … do … something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it” (William James). Strict means requiring or showing stringent observance of obligations, rules, or standards: “He could not be severe nor even passably strict” (W.H. Hudson).

adjective

1. Rigorous and unsparing in treating others: demanding, exacting, hard, harsh, rigid, stern, strict, tough, unyielding. See easy/hard.
2. Cold and forbidding: austere, bleak, dour, grim, hard, harsh, stark. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, hot/cold/lukewarm.
3. Causing sharp, often prolonged discomfort: bitter, brutal, hard, harsh, rough. See comfort/discomfort.
4. Conveying great physical force: hard, heavy, hefty, powerful. See big/small/amount.
5. Having great consequence or weight: earnest¹, grave², heavy, momentous, serious, weighty. See important/unimportant.
6. Causing or marked by danger or pain, for example: dangerous, grave², grievous, serious. See help/harm/harmless.
7. Requiring great or extreme bodily, mental, or spiritual strength: arduous, backbreaking, burdensome, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, exigent, formidable, hard, heavy, laborious, onerous, oppressive, rigorous, rough, taxing, tough, trying, weighty. See heavy/light.

adj

Definition: difficult, harsh
Antonyms: calm, easy, facile, mild, simple, temperate

adj

Definition: uncompromising, stern
Antonyms: amenable, compromising, easy-going, friendly, gentle, willing

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Of an extreme degree, beyond endurance. For example, in determining whether a plaintiff has succeeded in showing severe emotional distress, both the intensity and duration of the emotional distress suffered must be considered in determining whether the distress is of such substantial quantity or enduring quality that "no reasonable person in a civilized society should be expected to endure it."

A clinical qualifier that describes a disease that is so severe that it dominates all other activities.

• s. combined immune deficiency disease (SCID) (syndrome) — see combined immune deficiency syndrome (disease).

IN BRIEF: Extreme, harsh.

Affection can withstand very severe storms of vigor, but not a long polar frost of indifference. — Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scottish poet and novelist.

Common misspelling(s) of severely

• severley

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - alvorlig, streng, hård, barsk, voldsom

Nederlands (Dutch)
streng, strikt, ernstig

Français (French)
adj. - grave, rigoureux, violent, lourd, sévère, austère

Deutsch (German)
adj. - rauh, streng, hart, stark, schwer

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αυστηρός, δριμύς, τραχύς, απέριττος

Italiano (Italian)
inclemente, severo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - severo, austero, violento

Русский (Russian)
строгий, требовательный, жесткий, простой (о стиле), тщательный, суровый (о климате), серьезный, трудный, ожесточенный, саркастический

Español (Spanish)
adj. - crudo, áspero, severo, estricto, riguroso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sträng, svår, hård, skarp, kännbar, bister

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
严厉的, 剧烈的, 严格的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 嚴厲的, 劇烈的, 嚴格的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 엄한, 맹렬한, 견디기 어려운

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 厳しい, 苛酷な, ひどい, 手厳しい, 困難な, 深刻な, 激烈な, 簡素な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) متجهم, صارم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חמור, קשה, רציני, נוקשה, מקפיד, חריף, נוקב, פשוט‬

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