severese‧vere /səˈvɪə $ -ˈvɪr/ ●●● S3 W3 adjective 
His injuries were quite severe. She’s suffering from severe depression. The US faces severe economic problems. The storm caused severe damage.► see thesaurus at bad, seriousRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say an injury, a problem etc is serious rather than severe:· His injuries were quite serious.2weather severe weather is very bad and very extreme, and very hot, dry, cold etc3punishment a severe punishment is very strict or extreme: Drug smugglers can expect severe penalties.4criticism severe criticism is very extreme and shows that you think someone has done something very badly: The president came under severe criticism for his handling of the crisis.5difficult very difficult and needing a lot of effort and skill: The negotiations will be a severe test of his abilities.6person someone who is severe behaves in a way that does not seem friendly or sympathetic, and is very strict or disapproving SYN stern: His slightly severe expression softened.7plain very plain with little or no decoration: a rather severe red-brick building—severity /səˈverəti/ noun [countable, uncountable]: We didn’t realize the severity of her illness.COLLOCATIONSnounssevere damage· The blast caused severe damage to the surrounding buildings.severe problems/difficulties· The clothing industry has experienced severe problems in recent years.a severe injury/illness· She had suffered severe head injuries.severe pain· He was in severe pain and unable to call for help.severe depression· He suffered from severe depression when he was younger.a severe case (=of a medical condition)· Hospitalization is necessary in severe cases.a severe blow (=an event that has a very bad effect)· The closure of the mine was a severe blow to the country’s economy.
WORD ORIGINsevere
Origin:
1500-1600 French sévère, from Latin severusEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- severe economic problems
- severe pain
- Severe penalties will be imposed for late payment.
- Many people feel the punishment should have been more severe.
- She wore a severe black dress and no make-up.
- The organization has been the subject of severe criticism for the way it treated its staff.
- The victims suffered severe head injuries in the accident.
- The weather station issued a warning for severe thunderstorms.
- There are very severe penalties for drug dealing.
- A nearly stationary weather front encouraged severe thunderstorms to repeatedly form in the same places Monday night.
- But a hint of how severe the cuts could be came in a recent memorandum from library budget planners.
- Even those that survive are given a severe check and often produce poor growth.
- In any case, as soon as the story begins, the hero is projected into severe dangers.
- More severe cases require identification of the bacterial types involved and selection of a specific antibacterial product.
- Murayama leaves his successors a host of severe domestic problems.
- The sudden onset of severe weather conditions was thought to be a frequent result of disturbance to a site.
THESAURUSvery bad
especially British English very bad: · The movie was awful.· Her house is in a terrible state.· a dreadful crime
very bad, especially in a way that shocks or upsets you: · He describes prison as ‘a horrible place’.· It was a horrible experience.
smelling or tasting very bad: · The food was disgusting.· The fish smelled disgusting.
informal very bad or disappointing: · The weather has been lousy all week.· I’m fed up with this lousy job.
British English informal very bad: · I’ve had a ghastly day.· a ghastly mistake
severe problems, injuries, illnesses etc are very bad and serious: · The country faces severe economic problems.· severe delays· He suffered severe head injuries in a car crash.
extremely bad in a way that is shocking: · Her behaviour has been absolutely atrocious.· The country has an appalling human rights record.
very bad and of a very low standard: · The team’s performance was abysmal.· the abysmal conditions in some prisons
very bad very bad – used about problems, accidents, illnesses, or crimes: · Violent crime is a serious problem in and around the capital.· The boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.· Fortunately, the damage to the car was not serious.
very serious – used about problems, injuries, and illnesses: · He suffered severe injuries in a car crash.· The problem became so severe that they had to bring water in from other countries.· severe epilepsy
used about a situation that is very serious and worrying, especially because it is dangerous or seems likely to get worse: · A thick fog descended and I knew that we were in grave danger.· The situation is grave – war now seems inevitable.
used about an illness, problem, or situation that has become very serious or dangerous, and needs to be dealt with quickly: · She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis.· In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
used about a situation or problem that is very serious or dangerous, especially because a lot of people need urgent help: · The situation is desperate – people here need aid before the harsh winter sets in.· The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.
used about a situation that is very serious and dangerous and might get worse suddenly: · In 1991, the food supply situation became critical.· Eight people were killed and four are still in a critical condition.
used about a situation, illness, or condition in which someone could die: · Her child had a potentially life-threatening illness.· The situation was not life-threatening, but it was very worrying.
spoken to be extremely serious – used when a situation is very urgent or important: · For people living with HIV, getting the right treatment is literally a matter of life and death.
Longman Language Activatorpunishments/criticism use this to describe a punishment or criticism that is very strict: · There are very severe penalties for drug dealing.· Many people feel the punishment should have been more severe.· The organization has been the subject of severe criticism for the way it treated its staff.
use this to describe a punishment that is strict: heavy fine: · Companies that continue to cause pollution will now face heavy fines.heavy penalty: · There are heavy penalties for anyone caught in possession of counterfeit money.
use this to describe an official punishment that is more strict than usual: stiff fine: · Motorists who do not obey the rules will face stiff fines of up to £3000.stiff penalty: · Magistrates now have the power to impose stiff penalties on the parents of children who fail to turn up for school.stiff sentence: · For crimes involving the use of guns, the sentences are particularly stiff.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYnouns She was taken to the hospital with serious burns. Several of the survivors suffered severe burns. sharp cutbacks in the military budget Widespread famine had triggered a number of violent protests. He suffers from severe migraine. a severe reprimand
1very serious severe problems, injuries, illnesses etc are very bad or very serious: · The blast caused severe damage to the surrounding buildings.
· The clothing industry has experienced severe problems in recent years.
· She had suffered severe head injuries.
· He was in severe pain and unable to call for help.
· He suffered from severe depression when he was younger.
(=of a medical condition)· Hospitalization is necessary in severe cases.
(=an event that has a very bad effect)· The closure of the mine was a severe blow to the country’s economy.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (=when someone is losing a lot of blood)
· The news was a terrible blow for his family.
She was taken to the hospital with serious burns. Several of the survivors suffered severe burns.· These mountain people are used to the extreme climate.
· The country's debts put serious constraints on its economic growth.
· Our farming industry has been hit by a serious crisis.
· This decision attracted heavy criticism from environmental groups.
(=big reductions)· Deep cuts were made in research spending.
sharp cutbacks in the military budget· The earthquake caused severe damage to a number of buildings.
· By then, we were having serious financial difficulties.
· Public transport is very bad here, which is a serious disadvantage.
(=causing a lot of damage)· The whole town was flattened by a devastating earthquake.
· This scandal could cause severe embarrassment to the government.
· This failure was a severe embarrassment to the government.
· Some areas of the coast have suffered severe erosion.
Widespread famine had triggered a number of violent protests. (=when the temperature falls several degrees below freezing point)· Many plants were damaged by the severe frost.
· Severe gales disrupted road and rail travel throughout Britain.
(=very bad)· The 1930s brought severe hardship to the Midwest, especially for Oklahoma.
· I’ve got a really bad headache.
· His illness is more severe than the doctors first thought.
· He was admitted to hospital with a serious infection.
· This approach to the problem has serious limitations.
He suffers from severe migraine. (=serious and important worries)· Most of us have grave misgivings about the idea of human cloning.
· The woman suffered from severe nausea and vomiting.
· Ever since the accident, Mike’s suffered from severe back pain.
· There were calls for stiffer penalties for killers of police officers.
· The mines have caused serious pollution of the river system.· The pollution was so bad that most of the fish died.
· They live in conditions of extreme poverty.
· The court decided the original punishment was too severe.
· A severe allergic reaction to the drug has killed five Americans.
· We are in the middle of a severe recession.
a severe reprimand· The regime had put severe restrictions upon the media.
· This is a serious setback to the company.
· There is a serious shortage of food in some areas.
· He set out in a violent storm for Fort William.
· The country’s health system is under great strain.
· If the baby develops severe symptoms, call 911.
· After the pit closed, the town experienced severe unemployment.
(=very cold)· In a hard winter, many birds starve.
· He was taken to Broomfield Hospital with serious head wounds.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Some experts suggested that the damage resulting from the slick was not as severe as had first been assumed.· In one later incarnation, she is depicted as severe, with a scalpel and a large pair of pincers.· The staff had heard it before on numerous occasions but nothing as severe or as noisy as on this particular night.· The temperature and drought that summer were as severe as the country had seen since the mid-1930s.· Her eyes were red-rimmed but the set of her mouth was as severe as that of a judge.· The reaction at Emory University has not been as severe for Brown.· But Taylor insists that the funding shortfall isn't as severe as opponents believe.· The irony of his failure to act as a hero is as severe as anything in Conrad.
· Obviously excluding more severe cases results in bias because the remainder are less severe.· The vertiginous episodes tend to grow less frequent and less severe as hearing loss progresses.· The isolation of prisoners and their rights became less severe.· Much less severe memory deficits are sometimes seen after removal of the temporal lobe on only one side.· Criticism of the audit report proposals is less severe, but still material.· The vertigo is less severe than that due to end-organ disease, and visual fixation inhibits neither the nystagmus nor the vertigo.· But disaster, when it came, was less severe than had been foretold.· Some children are maddeningly passive-aggressive; in others the problem may be less severe.
· She was much younger than the serving women and her aura was rather more severe.· But advocates for disabled children said the rules will also deny assistance to those with much more severe problems.· Had that been taken into account, his humiliation would have been even more severe.· Withdrawal symptoms appear to be more severe following withdrawal from high doses or from short-acting benzodiazepines.· The effects are more severe than oxygen depletion and may result in prolonged poor health in your fish.· First, it could turn slowdowns into recessions and average recessions into more severe ones.· Since an expanding post-war economy stimulated immigration into Britain, governments have imposed more and more severe restrictions on entry.· And the remedial orders grew more expensive as shortfalls in revenue became more severe....
· It is ironic that often the most severe weather conditions can produce some of the most intricate and fragile sights.· Even though the Wilson administration had witnessed the most severe racial disorders since Reconstruction no really positive response was given.· Their data indicate that serious deforestation was occurring more than 200 years ago and was most severe between 1890 and 1930.· The first minutes of it are the most severe.· The penalty is believed to be the most severe yet meted out to a scientist for falsifying research findings.· At first glance it was much like the original, but the most severe criticisms of the original were successfully addressed.· In heavy experimental infections the most severe signs have appeared at 6-12 weeks after infection when egg-laying is maximal.· And this one was the most severe of all since the pains started three years ago.
· We agree that the loss of the traditional local shop can have a particularly severe impact on the community it serves.· In the colonial and semicolonial world, the inflationary consequences of the oil crisis promise to be particularly severe.· Immobilization produces increased bone resorption resulting in hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, and is particularly severe in young persons.· The surprise was caused by a particularly severe solar storm that had compressed the magnetosphere.
· Clearly too many diets involve deprivation that is so severe that the dieter breaks away from them.· Her beating was so severe, her teeth were smashed.· And this can cause side effects which can be so severe that the drugs must be used very sparingly.· It must also dole out a level of punishment so severe that it precludes any further response.· The crisis is so severe Downing Street gave in to Labour demands to recall Parliament.· The impact was so severe it left a small, black crater in the snow-white cornfield in rural Ida.· The damage had been so severe that at one stage, the fail out order had been given.· The bruise was so severe that he walked with a cane for months and underwent thousands of dollars in medical treatment.
· It also allows the colonization of environments that would otherwise be too severe.· There was the simplicity, death and its suggestion of permanence, that was almost too severe and stark for human eyes.· Patients need information regarding the treatment plan, its timescale and any alternative options should the side-effects become too severe to continue.· Are the consequences of telling the truth too severe?· For example, the massive recession between 1979 and 1981 was caused by too severe a financial squeeze.· But such transitions could only occur if the number of intermediate steps was small, and the fitness loss not too severe.· The diet was too severe and I broke it by having eggs and fish.
· As the most expensive section of the labour force, middle-aged workers have faced very severe pressures to terminate their employment.· Finally, at eighty-six, she suffered a very severe heart attack that killed her.· Sewing imposes very severe conditions for the threads.· There were considerable losses, owing partly to the circumstances of capture and partly to the very severe conditions on the voyage.· If the pain is very severe with inability to swallow and much drooling.· He had a very severe prenatal area which yet would not lift to view.· Moreover, there may well be some very severe doubts about the application of the biological model even to the favourite cases.· He says the crash damage was very severe.
NOUN· Modern methods of livestock farming have come under severe attack since the 1989 outbreak of salmonella.· A child under ten had only three chances in a thousand of becoming the victim of a severe attack of polio.· The paint may blister in a mild attack or show yellow soapy runs in a severe attack.· After a severe attack of bronchitis in 1959, Normand moved to Winchester where he died 25 October 1982.· I have in fact only once been incapacitated, on that occasion by a severe attack of malaria.· Twelve patients with ulcerative colitis had mild, 19 moderate, and 10 severe attacks.· She had been advised by her doctor to seek admission to hospital in the event of a severe attack.· Withdrawal from heroin, usually described in lurid nightmare language, is actually like a severe attack of gastric flu.
· The failure of the Accord was also a severe blow to Mulroney and prompted opposition calls for his resignation.· This was a severe blow because we needed him desperately.· Pittsburgh suffered a severe blow, however, when quarterback Neil O'Donnell broke his right leg.· This is a severe blow to the Fernandez family.· Bank Assistants have suffered a severe blow.· Pentrite can explode without a detonator if it receives a severe blow or strong friction.· Finally, the cutting of trade with the United States from 1985 was a severe blow.
· Up to eight people are missing and others have severe burns.· But both suffered severe burns to their face and body.· The woman is critical with severe burns.· Quirot, third at Barcelona, suffered severe burns when her home was set ablaze by a lamp in January 1993.· Dredge crashed Z3057 on the airfield in flames and suffered severe burns.· Thirteen of the survivors had suffered severe burns.· Do not dress or interfere with severe burns until expert help is available but do treat the shock.· He said 13 of the survivors had severe burns, but many others were suffering from shock.
· Obviously excluding more severe cases results in bias because the remainder are less severe.· In the most severe cases, work-inhibited children may be so inept that any school assignment is overwhelming.· In more severe cases dyspnoea and tenacious nasal discharge are also present.· In the severe case he or she is extremely uncomfortable, experiencing vertigo on any head motion accompanied by nausea and vomiting.· You probably realised she's a severe case of portal cirrhosis, with ascites and jaundice.· In the past, women with these symptoms rarely sought treatment, and women with severe cases were hospitalized.· Acne can affect the face, chest and back and, in severe cases, cause painful cysts.· Hospitalization is necessary in severe cases.
· Now, after more than a year of severe crisis, boom times are back.· Politics, healthcare, and public education are all in severe crisis.· The notion that the Social Security system is facing a severe crisis is a vast and cynical overstatement.
· Despite severe criticism, the newspaper conducted a poll in 1980 into the paranormal beliefs and experiences of its readers.· This encouraged providers to cream off the easiest to serve, and led to severe criticism.· The most severe criticism was that wind pressure on the huge rotors could capsize the ship.· Another difficulty is that the various methods of measuring the lag are subject to severe criticisms.· By the early 1980s the Commission had been coming under increasingly severe criticism from conservationists and others.· Bush came in for severe criticism, first for encouraging the coup, then for failing to support it.· A wide range of popular culture came under severe criticism in the early twentieth century.· At first glance it was much like the original, but the most severe criticisms of the original were successfully addressed.
· That is nothing short of irresponsibility, and inflicts severe damage on our democracy.· Paralyzed muscles lost tone and became flaccid; with severe damage they further degenerated through shrinkage and atrophy.· This factor, together with the severe damage caused to the roads and power supplies, greatly hampered relief efforts.· In addition to causing severe damage, the floods were responsible for the deaths of at least five people.· A fracture to left arm and severe damage to the left pelvic area occurred during his recovery from the ice.· Smoke and flames caused severe damage to the contents of the building.· In addition to the deaths and injuries, the blast from the explosion caused severe damage to both buildings.
· He then began adding back one food per day and when he included instant coffee it produced another bout of severe depression.· The economy had suffered severe depression in the eariy 1960s and was having a hard time reviving.· The improved treatment was investigated for patients whose only disorder was severe depression, and found to give much benefit.· She suffers from severe depression, alternating mania, which has been successfully stabilized over the years through medication and psychotherapy.· In severe depression apathy can lead to neglect, irritability to physical harm, and depressive delusions to infanticide.· Unsuccessfully treated severe depression is a disease with a mortality rate similar to that of cancer.· Tracy Forshaw suffered severe depression after the birth of all of her children.· There was a short but severe depression following World War I.. Then came the vast disaster of the nineteen-thirties.
· This is a severe pleural pain of sudden onset, accompanied by fever and severe difficulty in breathing.· The system will also suffer severe difficulties if it lacks legitimacy with its own employees, including prison staff and probation officers.· People with disabilities also experience severe difficulties in both training and the labour market.· The combination of early fantasy and external fact is what leaves many people in severe difficulty after being sexually abused as children.· If they leave before the relocation takes place, this could put the employer in severe difficulties with regard to staff shortages.· First, it seriously underplays the extent to which the system was in severe difficulties before the oil price rise.· At present many sheltered housing schemes are trying to cope with severe difficulties in relation to dementing tenants.· If there is severe difficulty in breathing - shortness of breath, wheezing, laboured, rapid or shallow breathing.
· I only receive a severe disability allowance and finding two lots of money for dentists care will be difficulty.· The survey estimated that 2.7 million people were in the top five categories, that is, suffering the most severe disabilities.
· Those who did not obtain O level or A level qualifications had more severe disease.· Acute pancreatitis is a severe disease with significant morbidity and mortality for which no specific treatment exists.· It has been suggested that alleles associated with a severe disease are dominated by those that produce mild disease.· This difference was significant for those with mild to moderate disease but not those with severe disease.
· In the early 1980s, there was another severe drought cycle but the adverse impact was less.· A severe drought caused most of the crops to fail, then winds reaching hurricane force destroyed what was left.· The previous warnings in the Horn were, like the present one, prompted by severe drought.· Under natural conditions some bands die out due to severe drought, disease, or increased predation.· This year a severe drought threatens the lives of 3m people, half the population.· Not long after my first visit, Navajo country suffered a severe drought.· The official reason for the decision was the persistence of a severe drought, the worst on record.· During the same period, the city experienced its first severe drought.
· These were termed severe events and were assumed to have a causal role.· The onset of depression usually followed a severe event quite rapidly - within a matter of weeks and sometimes even days.· This is why vulnerability factors only become of causal significance when a severe event occurs or major difficulties exist.· Co-trimoxazole was associated with lower risks of severe events in all strata.· Thus, 187 and 146, respectively, were free of severe events at the end of follow-up.· In fact many of the severe events arose out of long-term difficulties.· However, the observed difference in severe events after a short follow-up probably confers a medium-term benefit on mortality reduction.
· Diagnosis of the clinically severe forms of sickle cell disease is not difficult, providing awareness of the disease is high.· A large abdominal faecal mass was palpated in 42% of patients, indicating a severe form of constipation.· This left her with a severe form of amnesia that reduced her memory span to 20 minutes or less.· Unfortunately improvement was short-lived, lasting only a few weeks in those with more severe forms of the disease.· Some 500 people needed treatment for exposure, 134 for a rash similar to a severe form of acne.· In its most severe form the disease causes death in early childhood from overwhelming infection.· The evidence for genetic inheritance is much less strong for the less severe forms of depression.· He has a severe form of cerebral palsy.
· Occasionally, as in the winter of 1982, there is severe frost.· Snow, water and severe frosts hit sport although still some action with grayling in upper reaches.· As soon as the chance of a severe frost is passed, remover any winter protection from semi-tender plants.
· We have seen that a small skull for a very tall animal is a protection against severe head injuries.· My husband suffered a broken arm and severe head injuries.· He was taken to hospital critically ill with severe head injuries - leaving girlfriend Donna Lorenz, 23, speechless.· The woman is still recovering from severe head injuries at a local hospital.· She had severe head injuries and was taken to Milton Keynes hospital but died soon after arrival.· Biko died on the stone floor of his cell the next day of severe head trauma and brain damage.· If Brontosaurus was any taller, a fall could bring about severe head injuries.· This becomes evident when the patient first becomes active following a mild to moderately severe head injury.
· She suffered severe headaches and her face was tender.· Bacterial meningitis must always be considered in a febrile person with severe headache.· Some made her drowsy or faint, others produced a severe headache or nausea.· I had a severe headache that progressed into vomiting, flu-like symptoms.· No patients complained of severe headaches or flushing while taking nifedipine.· Recurrence of severe headache should immediately signal the need to increase the dosage and to subsequently reduce it in more gradual decrements.· If there is also drowsiness, severe headache, stiffness of the neck or severe lethargy.· Granato was admitted to Centinela Hospital early Monday morning after experiencing severe headaches.
· The designer's close encounter of severe illness had a profound influence on his scheme.· When it erupts at the wrong moment, it can signal severe illness.· People whose disabilities begin with severe illness or injury find themselves in medical hands whether they like it or not.· Soon thereafter Latimer falls into a severe illness and, after a time of unconsciousness, he wakes.· The most likely way in which a booking contract may be frustrated is through severe illness on the part of the guest.· It may be that many children will live for years with only episodes of severe illness.· The Methane produced on landfill sites is very explosive and can lead to severe illness if inhaled to a great extent.· There is a whole range of services and individuals who are available to help out in cases of severe illness.
· In severe infections, diarrhoea is the most prominent clinical sign.· In severe infections the entire body will be covered with the parasites, and the fishes will appear almost white.· The main cause of death is the destruction of the gut lining, which results in severe infection.
· A motorcyclist, in hospital with severe injuries.· Besides the severe injuries that require trauma care, lower-level violence also is increasing at some emergency rooms around the county.· In severe injury or in head injury he may lapse in and out of unconsciousness.· They found two men lying on the floor both with severe injuries.· And people suffering from a severe injury or illness usually need to regain weight.· He was quite unmoved, totally untouched by the man's obviously severe injuries.· He taken to the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, suffering from severe injuries but later died.· He was found lying in the road with severe injuries.
· They each have grown up sons with severe learning difficulties and need to be at home.· To these young men, this is their own very special pub because they all have severe learning difficulties.· The only B.Ed for children with severe learning difficulties had 20-29 hours of compulsory language work.· Both the above quotations refer to severe learning difficulties but of course severe is a term open to varying interpretations.· In general, the staff/student ratio is rarely as good as in a school for children and young people with severe learning difficulties.· However, there is still considerable use among children with severe learning disabilities.· For those with severe learning difficulties drama offers a secure situation in Which to examine the world.· Develop more day and accommodation services for the extra needs of people with severe learning disabilities and multiple handicaps.
· In fact, they wanted an even more severe limitation on politicians, but Willie Brown had the only guillotine.· The magnitude of the early railway works was enhanced by the severe limitation the engineers placed upon themselves as regards gradients.· This vision has severe limitations, especially in its resistance to formal innovation and cultural weirdness.· Dating a skull on the morphology has also severe limitations.· With these severe limitations agreed to, the march was held.· If cloze only measures comprehension at the phrase or sentence level, it has severe limitations.· But cast iron had severe limitations.
· Her main complaint was a severe pain which radiated to the left eyeball.· Gastric or other visceral crises with severe pain are sometimes a part of the syndrome.· Unfortunately, partway through the festivities, Louisa was taken ill with severe pains in her stomach.· Kumi was 29 days old when she was euthanized after it was found she had kidney failure and was in severe pain.· Patients seen in the first half hour after the onset of symptoms are experiencing most severe pain.· In fact, an ear infection alone can cause sudden severe pain as fluid builds up in the middle ear.· Babies who might be in severe pain soon after birth are certain to be severely diseased babies.
· Neglect of their duty involved severe penalties.· The most severe penalty he could receive would be a suspension of pay, reduction in rank or confinement to the barracks.· The curve shows that a severe penalty has to be paid for increasing the final speed.· This is a legal minefield, and infringement of the regulations can lead to severe penalties, both civil and criminal.· In other countries, he said, such organizations would immediately be subject to severe penalties.· It was all very well for the government in Moscow to lay down severe penalties for its servants who maltreated the natives.· Suppliers of credit exact severe penalties if the borrower defaults.
· Infant mortality is frequently assumed to be an especially sensitive indicator of severe poverty.· Polgar resolved to do the same, although for years it resulted in severe poverty.· Walkerburn families had experienced severe poverty when the factory closed, yet the welfare state had failed to come to their rescue.· We have seen that the proportion in severe poverty was considerably higher.· The latter was everywhere a cause of severe poverty.
· As the most expensive section of the labour force, middle-aged workers have faced very severe pressures to terminate their employment.· Whatever Congress does to fix it is likely to put severe pressures on the rest of the health care system.· Several species in Britain are under severe pressure.· The group had been under severe pressure last week, extending the decline that shook those shares through the end of 1995.· There were severe pressures on family farmers' time and part-time farmers were often severely fatigued.· Under severe pressure from the neighborhood, the council drafted legislation to stop construction of the metal houses.· Both Muzorewa and the white minority had to undergo severe pressure.· He found himself under severe pressure last year when the pit closure programme was announced.
· Both countries will face severe problems increasing their oil output.· But advocates for disabled children said the rules will also deny assistance to those with much more severe problems.· Animals and plants living in the desert therefore face severe problems.· And Liz Claiborne had severe problems after the founder retired.· Particle beams promise substantially higher efficiency than do lasers, but focusing presents severe problems.· It should come as no surprise that welfare dependency, alcohol dependency, and drug dependency are among our most severe problems.· The physically handicapped youngster faces severe problems in finding employment.· In an audio amplifier, the kind of distortion which causes severe problems is harmonic distortion.
· After childhood there is often nothing left but increasingly severe punishment.· It is clear that younger children believe in the need for severe punishment.· The Brit athletics superstar found Olympic gold in the heptathlon after two days of severe punishment.· Charles resolved upon a severe punishment.· Amal's brother, fearful of severe punishment for using drugs, did not step forward to clear his sister's name.
· And nearly every year, a few of them have severe reactions to the drug.· He said he suspects it was a small amount because Reitan would have had a more severe reaction otherwise.
· What starts as a mild downturn becomes a severe recession through the reaction of risk-averse, highly leveraged businesses.· More severe recessions that last longer.· Record profits in time of recession Darlington Building Society has made record profits despite the severe recession in the housing market.· It has been a severe recession for the construction industry.
· Since an expanding post-war economy stimulated immigration into Britain, governments have imposed more and more severe restrictions on entry.· That's when Boylston initially sentenced Sherrod to 179 days in jail, then transferred the sentence to Holley with severe restrictions.· This is a severe restriction which the travelling matte overcomes.· Most lived under severe restrictions, but some dealt with their neighbors on a near-equal basis.· To a large extent this is due to the severe restriction on building.· Environmental lawyers warned that this ruling would place severe restrictions on future law suits.· The rigours of their existence place severe restrictions on the kind of rugs that can be made.
· Meanwhile Kishinev is experiencing severe shortages.· This change could have created a severe shortage of corneas and other tissues in California, said Ward.· There are then severe shortages of accommodation for local people for the duration of the holiday season.· Thus the plan typically results in substantial oversupply of some goods and severe shortages of others.
· His sister already has severe symptoms.· The most anxious and most depressed kids had the most severe symptoms.· Some people suffer quite severe symptoms of feeling dizzy or faint if they go long periods without eating.· The reduction was due to more severe symptoms with longer hospital stay in the supportive care group.· Future research in this field should also attempt to assess attributions before the more chronic and severe symptoms set in.· On DeMeester-Johnson clinical score, 15 of 25 patients had no reflux, while eight reported mild and two moderately severe symptoms.· Although we did not study any patients with severe symptoms, our findings seem to be clinically relevant.
· It is ironic that often the most severe weather conditions can produce some of the most intricate and fragile sights.· El Nino is expected to cause severe weather in Southern California, and wetter-than-normal conditions farther north.· It has survived well in my cold garden, coming again from the base, even when cut down by severe weather.· An established hebe may survive all but the worst winters, but a young plant may succumb to moderately severe weather.· Whatever its cause, that decline makes it harder to lay blame for any recent severe weather on El Chichón.· The sudden onset of severe weather conditions was thought to be a frequent result of disturbance to a site.· These geese rarely stay for very long, except in severe weather.· These influxes were all associated with severe weather and numbers otherwise ranged between one and 24 annually, averaging about nine.
· Tufted Duck are unusual on salt water, except in severe winter weather.· The Northeastern markets, though, are more susceptible to severe winter weather.· Some of these isolated populations are subject to predation, others to starvation, flooding, severe winters or summer drought.· The leaves are evergreen or semi-evergreen since they can be heavily defoliated in severe winters.· Release of the report was delayed two days by a severe winter storm.· In a severe winter, the figure can reach 80 percent.· Federal Express cited the impact of severe winter weather on its delivery service.
His injuries were quite severe. She’s suffering from severe depression. The US faces severe economic problems. The storm caused severe damage.► see thesaurus at bad, seriousRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say an injury, a problem etc is serious rather than severe:· His injuries were quite serious.2weather severe weather is very bad and very extreme, and very hot, dry, cold etc3punishment a severe punishment is very strict or extreme: Drug smugglers can expect severe penalties.4criticism severe criticism is very extreme and shows that you think someone has done something very badly: The president came under severe criticism for his handling of the crisis.5difficult very difficult and needing a lot of effort and skill: The negotiations will be a severe test of his abilities.6person someone who is severe behaves in a way that does not seem friendly or sympathetic, and is very strict or disapproving SYN stern: His slightly severe expression softened.7plain very plain with little or no decoration: a rather severe red-brick building—severity /səˈverəti/ noun [countable, uncountable]: We didn’t realize the severity of her illness.COLLOCATIONSnounssevere damage· The blast caused severe damage to the surrounding buildings.severe problems/difficulties· The clothing industry has experienced severe problems in recent years.a severe injury/illness· She had suffered severe head injuries.severe pain· He was in severe pain and unable to call for help.severe depression· He suffered from severe depression when he was younger.a severe case (=of a medical condition)· Hospitalization is necessary in severe cases.a severe blow (=an event that has a very bad effect)· The closure of the mine was a severe blow to the country’s economy.