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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in extremely
to a great degree
the rescued mountain climbers were severely dehydrated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of severely
In August, a group of Palestinian children who had been severely injured in the war in Gaza arrived in San Francisco after the State Department issued around two hundred temporary visas for medical treatment.
—
Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The administration has slashed funding for federal and university research and severely restricted visas for foreign scientists and technologists.
—Lael Brainard, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
This convergence of hazardous weather and widespread flight cancellations threatens to severely impact travel plans for millions of Americans—especially ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
The West Midlands club are bottom of the Premier League, eight points adrift of safety, with a squad that has been weakened since finishing 16th last season and with the relationship and trust between the supporters and owners Fosun International severely strained.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
The Miami Dolphins will be severely undermanned on defense in Sunday’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
—Miami Herald, 9 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, recent fatal incidents involving people in mental distress have renewed debates over the role of law enforcement and the need for involuntary treatment for those who are severely ill.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 7 Nov. 2025
Patron was winning the fight when three friends of the younger man intervened and severely beat him.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Experts warn that upcoming holiday travel, like Thanksgiving, could be severely impacted if the flight reductions continue.
—Eve Chen, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The administration has slashed funding for federal and university research and severely restricted visas for foreign scientists and technologists.
—Lael Brainard, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
This convergence of hazardous weather and widespread flight cancellations threatens to severely impact travel plans for millions of Americans—especially ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
The West Midlands club are bottom of the Premier League, eight points adrift of safety, with a squad that has been weakened since finishing 16th last season and with the relationship and trust between the supporters and owners Fosun International severely strained.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
The Miami Dolphins will be severely undermanned on defense in Sunday’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
—Miami Herald, 9 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, recent fatal incidents involving people in mental distress have renewed debates over the role of law enforcement and the need for involuntary treatment for those who are severely ill.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 7 Nov. 2025
Patron was winning the fight when three friends of the younger man intervened and severely beat him.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Experts warn that upcoming holiday travel, like Thanksgiving, could be severely impacted if the flight reductions continue.
—Eve Chen, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for severely
Adverb
-
In a follow-up study, highly attractive female fitness influencers faced stronger backlash than equally attractive men, perhaps reflecting a broader social tendency to judge women’s looks more harshly.—
Abby Frank,
The Conversation,
5 Nov. 2025
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The Next Gen Stats model graded the decision even more harshly, a 7% dip in win probability.—
Sam McDowell
November 4,
Kansas City Star,
4 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business, and stop.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Nineteenth-century reporters could be extremely casual with facts and guessed at the spelling of names.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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The second planet from the sun has a completely inhospitable surface, with temperatures reaching 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius) and a crushing pressure underneath an oppressively thick atmosphere.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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On an oppressively hot Friday in July, plumes of smoke curl up from Arnolds Field.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
15 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Joel Quenneville’s immediate impact has been undeniable, while new assistants Jay Woodcroft and Ryan McGill have sparked improvement in what were terribly inefficient special teams last season.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
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With its frozen setting, enigmatic characters, and haunting tone, Let The Right One In is, at its core, a twisted and terribly sad love story — as all the best vampire movies are.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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The group, originally led by Seth Rollins, brutally betrayed him, which was used to write Rollins off television after an injury forced him to vacate the World Heavyweight Championship.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
On a brutally hot day this summer, my friend Max met up with his family at a playground.—
James Somers,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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Flares such as this one reveal the presence of incredibly large stars near the hearts of galaxies and shed light on the very structure of galaxies, Ford said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Over the last 10 years the floor on theatrical performance has dropped out, so distributors need to be incredibly careful about project selection and assumptions at acquisition stage.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
That can take nefarious forms, such as hypothetically hard-coding cheaper ticket prices into the site that are hidden to human users but visible to AI bots, making the platform seem like a more affordable option to the computer model.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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The show’s second season, based on Mona Kasten’s book Save You, follows the first installment, which found James Beaufort (Damien Hardung) and Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) go from enemies to lovers as the both worked hard to get into Oxford.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
10 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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Baltimore will badly need to add talented young players on affordable contracts to balance the team’s top-heavy salary structure.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
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The stock was very narrowly up for the year, badly trailing the broader market and Amazon's megacap peers.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Severely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severely. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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