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 Many of the children's bodies were severely decomposed, with only 26 able to be identified, and investigations into the other deaths are ongoing. — Jefferson Kahinju Reuters, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 At least one case of congenital measles led to a death; the first death reported in the current outbreak was in a newborn baby boy, who died immediately after birth while his mother was severely ill with measles. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026 In Mountain Cove, a couple of homes were severely threatened, Hummel said. — Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026 That’s the crux of their demand for a salary cap that no doubt will lead to a lockout and severely damage the sport soon after this most entertaining postseason ends. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 Even with specialized parallel-processing hardware, this consumes immense amounts of energy, and creates a digital traffic jam that can severely limit performance. — New Atlas, 18 Oct. 2026 Unfortunately for the Chargers, the offensive line is still severely hobbled. — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026 In August, an NBC crew was attacked and a Palestinian woman was severely injured while covering the escalating violence. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 Vision, severely injured, tries to persuade Thomas to abandon him. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for severely

Adverb

Hair in Sports Women are often judged more harshly than male counterparts in many aspects of life, but this is especially true in sports.

— Audrey Noble, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2026
But their complaints come as Lecornu's government seeks to rein in public spending to appease skittish bond markets, which have punished France more harshly than many of its peers this year, amid a global bond market rout.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of harshly

Adverb

Some wondered whether Schrödinger’s equation might be an approximation that works extremely well at the microscopic scale but breaks down at the macroscopic scale, which would mean the measurement postulate of the Copenhagen interpretation is right.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
In the meantime, no one should refrain from using sunscreen, which is extremely well-proven to cause cancer.

— Tracy Middleton, Allure, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of extremely

Adverb

The summer had seen Europe endure an oppressively dry, hot summer, which had seen wildfires spring up across the continent.

— Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
After a bit of a reprieve from an oppressively hot summer, another heat wave is set to scorch Southern California this week.

— Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of oppressively

Adverb

Another issue is that AI detectors are still not terribly reliable, which Vara addresses in her piece, citing a number of studies to bolster the credentials of Pangram.

— James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Probably nothing too terribly bad, especially since Denver has done it without much offensive consistency.

— Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of terribly

Adverb

Witch fever, by this point in history, had become a mechanism for brutally regulating and disciplining female behavior, and doing so intergenerationally.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
The flags couldn’t be redder, and Khoshnoudi nimbly sketches out the circuitous emotional paths S takes to avoid seeing them until such evasion suddenly and brutally becomes impossible.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of brutally

Adverb

While these issues can be addressed, the costs can be incredibly high, and under Florida law, developers are only on the hook for anything identified within the first seven years after a building is handed over to the homeowners association.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
The pre-selection debates about three- or four-loss SEC squads and some team no one actually watches will prove incredibly tiresome, too.

— Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of incredibly

Adverb

And even DeVonta Smith, who made his return from injury Sunday, landed hard in the fourth quarter and appeared to be shaken up.

— Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 18 Oct. 2026
The Capricorn Moon squares the Sun in your sign, making private responsibilities or family dynamics harder to tune out.

— Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of hard

Adverb

The Anthropic report is the latest warning issued by the company concerning rogue AI agents operating on their own and sometimes behaving badly.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Although the house is still standing, the interior was left so badly damaged that the family can no longer live there.

— Joan Murray, CBS News, 13 Oct. 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 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of severely

adverb

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