harsh; unnecessarily extreme: severe criticism; severe laws.
serious or stern in manner or appearance: a severe face.
grave; critical: a severe illness.
rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.
causing discomfort or distress by extreme character or conditions, as weather, cold, or heat; unpleasantly violent, as rain or wind, or a blow or shock.
difficult to endure, perform, fulfill, etc.: a severe test of his powers.
rigidly exact, accurate, or methodical: severe standards.
Origin of severe
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin sevērus, or back formation from severity
The coroner told the New York Times that the injuries were so severe that Taylor likely died in less than a minute.
The policing reforms in the Breonna Taylor settlement, explained|Fabiola Cineas|September 17, 2020|Vox
The Senate’s biases are largely unintentional but even more severe.
America needs a democratic revolution|Matthew Yglesias|September 17, 2020|Vox
Thanks to AMP’s pre-rendering combined with some severe design limitations, AMP webpages often really do win in page speed, even if not in ranking as is.
Google ranking factors to change search in 2021: Core Web Vitals, E-A-T, or AMP?|Aleh Barysevich|September 16, 2020|Search Engine Watch
The company switched to household size-based billing in Monterey during a severe water shortage and that kind of issue didn’t crop up for San Diego area customers, Tilden said.
Environment Report: State Throws Cold Water on Pricing Scheme|MacKenzie Elmer|September 14, 2020|Voice of San Diego
This problem is the most severe and also the easiest to understand.
How to earn your place in Google’s index in 2020|Bartosz Góralewicz|September 14, 2020|Search Engine Land
And that realization comes at the cost of severe, public embarrassment for many, including the victim/proposed.
Public Marriage Proposals Must Die|Tauriq Moosa|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This concern ceased after the Spanish warned of severe punitive measures on the family members of suicides.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“That was the longest, most severe S/M session I have experienced in my thirty-four-year tenure,” she writes in the book.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The new term denotes a spectrum of problem drinking that can range from mild to moderate to severe.
Americans Drink Too Much, But We’re Not All Alcoholics|Gabrielle Glaser|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And while such a severe punishment is questioned every few years, it works.
How UVA Is Failing Its Women|Allison McNearney|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is here, adorning, by a life of severe simplicity and divine benevolence, the doctrine he has espoused.
Aurelian|William Ware
The Roman conquest accelerated the decline in severe taste, when different orders began to be used indiscriminately.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume III|John Lord
Gerald had a severe attack of pneumonia, from which we had much ado to bring him back to health, and Rough was ill.
Happy Days for Boys and Girls|Various
But what had been the severe emotional disturbance for Arkalion?
Voyage To Eternity|Milton Lesser
But just then Mrs. Ogilvie gave Helen Douglas so severe a push with her foot, that she stopped, and got very red.
Daddy's Girl|L. T. Meade
British Dictionary definitions for severe
severe
/ (sɪˈvɪə) /
adjective
rigorous or harsh in the treatment of others; stricta severe parent
serious in appearance or manner; stern
critical or dangerousa severe illness
causing misery or discomfort by its harshnesssevere weather
strictly restrained in appearance; austerea severe way of dressing
hard to endure, perform, or accomplisha severe test