Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state or quality of being severe.
- noun The act or an instance of severe behavior, especially punishment.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The character or state of being severe.
- noun Extreme rigor; strictness; rigidity; harshness.
- noun Harshness; cruel treatment; sharpness of punishment: as, severity practised on prisoners of war.
- noun In lit., art, etc., the quality of strict conformity to an ideal rule or standard; studied moderation; freedom from all exuberance or florid ornament; purity of line and form; austerity of style.
- noun The quality or power of afflicting, distressing, or paining; extreme degree; extremity; keenness: as, the severity of pain or anguish; the severity of cold or heat; the severity of the winter.
- noun Exactness; rigor; niceness: as, the severity of a test.
- noun Strictness; rigid accuracy.
- noun Synonyms and Asperity, Harshness, etc. (see
acrimony ), unkindness.—, , and Sharpness, keenness, force. See list underharshness .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being severe.
- noun Gravity or austerity; extreme strictness; rigor; harshness.
- noun The quality or power of distressing or paining; extreme degree; extremity; intensity; inclemency.
- noun Harshness; cruel treatment; sharpness of punishment.
- noun Exactness; rigorousness; strictness.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state of being
severe . - noun The
degree of somethingundesirable ;badness orseriousness .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun something hard to endure
- noun excessive sternness
- noun extreme plainness
- noun used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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She was the friend and guardian of my dear lady from her infancy; but your father could not endure what he called her severity, or forgive her opposition to his marriage with your mother.
The Flower Basket A Fairy Tale Unknown
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As with all inorganic acids, the dissociation of hydrogen ions causes the initial corrosive burns, which vary in severity depending on the concentration of the specific acid and the duration of contact.
Hydrofluoric Acid 2010
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Hurricanes are made by the climate, but global warming impact on hurricane severity is a proven fact. pezmiztix says: polar bears dying – false.
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It is predicted that most cases of H1N1 flu will be mild to moderate in severity and self-limited; however, more severe cases may occur.
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DanielK - I think combined with the voting rights issue it shows a Governor who really has very little understanding about the difference in severity of crimes and how they should be dealt with.
Kaine's Final Day: No Voting Rights For Ex-Felons, Paroles Murderer 2010
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The majority of cases have been mild to moderate in severity, and many have not required medical care for diagnosis or treatment.
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Hurricanes, other tropical cyclones and associated extreme weather events are increasing in severity and frequency;
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Because you are likely to be the first to professionally assess a child's stuttering, you should be aware of certain severity risk factors.
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It can range in severity from an occasional annoyance to a chronic, life-threatening condition; exercise, allergies and airborne dust or other irritants can set off attacks.
New Surgery to Treat Asthma Melinda Beck 2010
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Taken together, the studies suggest that people born prematurely experience a "spectrum of social and emotional difficulties that range in severity from quite mild to severe," says Catherine Limperopoulos of McGill University in Montreal, lead author of one of the autism studies.
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