SEVERELY Synonyms: 199 Similar and Opposite Words

severely

adverb

Definition of severely

as in harshly

in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering the building was severely damaged by the explosion

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in extremely

to a great degree the rescued mountain climbers were severely dehydrated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of severely The person who died was taken to the shore severely injured and, despite CPR being administered, was pronounced dead, officials said. — Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 15 July 2026 When rescuers first met her, Rockalina’s eyes were sealed shut, her nails were severely overgrown, and cat hair had become tightly wrapped around one of her legs. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026 Fellow Club stock Salesforce has been ravaged even more severely — plunging 36% year to date for the same reason. — Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 15 July 2026 And that his injury severely hampered their chances in the second half of the campaign. — Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 14 July 2026 Reginald and Jonathan Carr, originally from Dodge City, Kansas, were sentenced to death for killing five people and severely injuring two others during the week-long crime spree, known as the Wichita Massacre or Wichita Horror. — Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026 Despite severely lacking resources, the monuments men and women were able to find and retrieve more than five million items, many of them artworks that had been stolen by the Axis forces. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 July 2026 First-year students, according to thousands of professors, are arriving severely deficient in math and weak in writing skills. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 The labor shortage in the Palm Beach County healthcare sector has been severely impacted by immigration detentions. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for severely

Adverb

An otherwise magical season for the New England Patriots ended rather harshly in Super Bowl LX.

— Chad Graff, New York Times, 9 July 2026
Yet others — particularly those who identify as Jews through ethnic, cultural or family ties, rather than religion — feel less connected to Israel and judge its actions in the ongoing conflict more harshly.

— David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of harshly

Adverb

Be vigilant about never leaving young children and pets in vehicles without supervision, especially during periods of intense heat, as car interiors can quickly become extremely hot.

— CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
Surveillance of a suspect can take hours or days, and is extremely resource-intensive.

— Caroll Alvarado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

Definition of extremely

Adverb

The oppressively hot and steamy weather was no deterrent for the crowds that lined up along Crandon Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate America’s independence at Key Biscayne’s 67th Fourth of July parade.

— Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.

— Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026

Definition of oppressively

Adverb

Still, this ambitious movie adaptation’s pedigree might just be more intimidating than any of the game’s brutally difficult boss battles.

— Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026
Florida State has fallen on brutally bad times — and this during a period the ACC has really needed FSU to be the Seminoles of yesteryear.

— Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of brutally

Adverb

Pushing too hard is a fast route to overuse injuries and trail burnout, and neither one gets you to the terminus.

— Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026
Others will argue, reasonably, that no other commercial industry staffs onboard physicians on most routes, and that the infrequency of serious events makes dedicated medical staffing hard to justify economically.

— Sriman Swarup, STAT, 13 July 2026

Definition of hard

Adverb

Human and animal circadian rhythms could be badly affected if the sun—or a simulacrum of it—never sets.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 July 2026
What Peng is arguing is that the AI boom’s boosters — and a lot of investors pricing that boom into equities — may be badly miscalibrated on timing.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 July 2026

Definition of badly

Browse Nearby Words

severed

severely

severeness

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“Severely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severely. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of severely

adverb

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