severe

adjective

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se·vere | \ sə-ˈvir

severer; severest

Definition of severe

1a : strict in judgment, discipline, or government

b : of a strict or stern bearing or manner : austere

2 : rigorous in restraint, punishment, or requirement : stringent

3 : strongly critical or condemnatory a severe critic

4a : maintaining a scrupulously exacting standard of behavior or self-discipline

b : establishing exacting standards of accuracy and integrity in intellectual processes a severe logician

5 : sober or restrained in decoration or manner : plain a severe dress

6a : causing discomfort or hardship : harsh severe winters

b : very painful or harmful a severe wound

7 : requiring great effort : arduous a severe test

8 : of a great degree severe depression

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Choose the Right Synonym for severe

severe, stern, austere, ascetic mean given to or marked by strict discipline and firm restraint. severe implies standards enforced without indulgence or laxity and may suggest harshness. severe military discipline stern stresses inflexibility and inexorability of temper or character. stern arbiters of public morality austere stresses absence of warmth, color, or feeling and may apply to rigorous restraint, simplicity, or self-denial. living an austere life in the country ascetic implies abstention from pleasure and comfort or self-indulgence as spiritual discipline. the ascetic life of the monks

Examples of severe in a Sentence

On Feb. 25 regulators laid out details on how they will run the "stress tests" that Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has promised on the biggest banks. Now those tests, designed to judge whether the banks have the capital to keep lending and absorb losses in a severe recession, face an exam of their own. — Jane Sasseen et al., Business Week, 9 Mar. 2009 A study in February in the journal Lancet, for instance, compared treatments for severe ankle sprains, concluding that a below-the-knee cast is superior to a tubular compression bandage. — Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2009 Between 2000 and 2004 the number of Americans covered by Medicaid rose by a remarkable eight million. Over the same period the ranks of the uninsured rose by six million. So without the growth of Medicaid, the uninsured population would have exploded, and we'd be facing a severe crisis in medical care. — Paul Krugman et al., New York Review of Books, 23 Mar. 2006 As several economists—most notably Jeffrey Williamson, of Harvard University—have written recently, international trade increased dramatically between 1850 and the First World War. Williamson goes on to point out that one consequence of this earlier period of globalization was that governments retreated into policies of severe trade and immigration restrictions. — Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 10 May 1999 The storm caused severe damage to the roof. The patient is in severe pain. children with severe learning disabilities In the most severe cases, the disease can lead to blindness. He suffered a severe head injury. He faces severe penalties for his actions. The war was a severe test of his leadership.

Recent Examples on the Web In 2016, the Marshall Islands suffered a drought so severe that water was rationed to residents for a limit of four hours per week. — Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, "The Cost of Fleeing Climate Change," 10 Jan. 2020 Some are a cause of the common cold, while others found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved into more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS. — Washington Post, "AP Explains: The pathogen behind China’s pneumonia outbreak," 9 Jan. 2020 Venezuela is currently in the midst of a refugee crisis, and 4 million people have fled the nation to escape the human rights violations of a country in severe political and financial turmoil. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Party Of Five’s Emily Tosta Came To America Undocumented. Now She’s On Billboards," 8 Jan. 2020 These billion-dollar-plus disasters included eight severe storm events, three flooding events, two tropical cyclone events, and one wildfire. — Audrey Mcnamara, CBS News, "Extreme weather and climate disasters cost the U.S. billions in 2019, NOAA reports," 8 Jan. 2020 That same storm system is forecast to generate a severe weather outbreak across areas of the South by the weekend. — Joe Taschler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Accumulating snow possible for the weekend; wind chills will fall below zero overnight into Wednesday," 7 Jan. 2020 In fact, the risk of developing severe dengue is highest during a person’s second dengue infection. — Helen Branswell, STAT, "3 challenges to watch in global health in 2020," 26 Dec. 2019 Should that family experience a high amount of unexpected health costs—by means of a severe illness or an accident—and meet that limit, more than 30 percent of their income would go to health care costs. — Libby Watson, The New Republic, "The Hell That Was Health Care Reform," 23 Dec. 2019 Macadamia nuts Often lurking in cookies or eaten as a decadent Christmas snack, these nuts cause severe illness in dogs. 6. — Htv National Desk, Houston Chronicle, "10 Christmas hazards all pet owners should be aware of," 12 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'severe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.