Severe Meaning
/sɪˈvɪə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjVery great; intense; strict or harsh.
adjVery bad or intense.
Sentence Examples
Mr Yoshida is too severe with his children.
On the whole, the country has a severe climate.
She received a severe blow on the head.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient was admitted to the hospital due to a ____ infection that threatened his life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm caused ____ damage to coastal areas.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French, from Latin severus (“severe, serious, grave in demeanor”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In the severer cases of hookworm the patient sometimes has an appetite for soil, paper, hair, clay, chalk, starch, and other unpalatables."
— 1934, Your Germs and Mine, page 295:
"Parkinsonism, at its severest, presents itself as an akinetic amimia (as opposed to certain cortical disorders which are amimic akinesias)."
— 1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings:
"Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force."
— 2012 January 26, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2012, page 70:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient was admitted to the hospital due to a ____ infection that threatened his life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm caused ____ damage to coastal areas.