1
as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
the building was severely damaged by the explosion
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in extremely
to a great degree
the rescued mountain climbers were severely dehydrated
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of severely
The car was severely damaged by the crash, video showed.
—
Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
In its extreme form, MS can severely limit a person’s mobility.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 7 June 2026
The Israeli military said two soldiers were wounded, one severely, in an encounter Friday with militants in southern Lebanon.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 6 June 2026
The net result is that most underwater robots today either exchange short status pings or must surface to transmit mission data, severely limiting real-time autonomy.
—Omar Kardoudi
june 06, New Atlas, 6 June 2026
Because chemotherapy had severely weakened his immune system, the infection quickly became life-threatening.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
This year, owing to a mixup in the congressional budget, one of the government’s most important scholarships was left severely underfunded, depriving thousands of Peru’s neediest high-school graduates of the opportunity to continue their studies at local universities.
—Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
They could be punished more severely than the person who drove the vehicle.
—Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
In its extreme form, MS can severely limit a person’s mobility.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 7 June 2026
The Israeli military said two soldiers were wounded, one severely, in an encounter Friday with militants in southern Lebanon.
—Michelle L. Price, Fortune, 6 June 2026
The net result is that most underwater robots today either exchange short status pings or must surface to transmit mission data, severely limiting real-time autonomy.
—Omar Kardoudi
june 06, New Atlas, 6 June 2026
Because chemotherapy had severely weakened his immune system, the infection quickly became life-threatening.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
This year, owing to a mixup in the congressional budget, one of the government’s most important scholarships was left severely underfunded, depriving thousands of Peru’s neediest high-school graduates of the opportunity to continue their studies at local universities.
—Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
They could be punished more severely than the person who drove the vehicle.
—Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for severely
Adverb
-
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.—
Leah Willingham,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Trump harshly criticized Powell throughout his tenure as chair, frequently attacking the Fed’s interest-rate decisions and urging the central bank to cut borrowing costs more aggressively.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
Adverb
-
Canfield, as proven by her work in Stereophonic, is extremely able at playing a character with a pristine, almost porcelain surface and roiling depths.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
5 June 2026
-
This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
Adverb
-
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
-
The first of the four chapters is an oppressively gray-toned, narratively diffuse spy thriller, set amid the mists of what appears to be the Second World War.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
18 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
To be candid, our process was not terribly dramatic—there were no big fights, no couples counseling—other than the drama of racing to complete the project (or, at least, most of it) before the kids were born.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
While there are plenty of moments of necessary humor in the story, with Marquis flexing her knack for comic timing, other moments are terribly uncomfortable to grasp.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Adverb
-
In December of ‘91, Beuerlein came off the bench to fill in for injured starting quarterback Troy Aikman and led the Cowboys to an upset playoff win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on a brutally cold day on Lake Michigan.—
Mac Engel
June 4,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 June 2026
-
In 2023, a Brazilian university student died while waiting for a brutally hot concert by the pop star.—
Rebecca Hersher,
NPR,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
Leda opened her mouth and left it open, an incredibly affecting gesture.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
This is a Ritz-Carlton—incredibly refined, but always approachable.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Adverb
-
Many cities and school districts are trying hard to line up job opportunities for young people.—
Dianna Douglas,
NPR,
6 June 2026
-
With his gregarious nature and hard-drinking demeanor, Lobo is an intimidating extraterrestrial mercenary and bounty hunter, but his origin story is brutal, even by those standards.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
The allegations are that the defendant was impaired, failed to properly secure two young children, and then caused a crash that left one child dead, another seriously injured, and an innocent driver badly hurt.—
Gino Vicci,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
-
But Orioles center fielder Blaze Alexander badly misread the ball, which wound up landing at least 60 feet behind him and allowed both runners to score.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Severely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severely. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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