[syn: hard, severely]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Severe \Se*vere"\, a. [Compar. Severer; superl. Severest.]
[L. severus; perhaps akin to Gr. ??? awe, ??? revered, holy,
solemn, Goth. swikns innocent, chaste: cf. F. s['e]v[`e]re.
Cf. Asseverate, Persevere.]
1. Serious in feeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not
light, lively, or cheerful.
[1913 Webster]
Your looks alter, as your subject does,
From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe.
--Waller.
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2. Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh;
not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism;
severe punishment. "Custody severe." --Milton.
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Come! you are too severe a moraler. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be
always more severe against thyself than against
others. --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]
3. Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle;
exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing
unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; --
said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and
severe principles." --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]
The Latin, a most severe and compendious language.
--Dryden.
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4. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as,
severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold.
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5. Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a
severe test.
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Syn: Strict; grave; austere; stern; morose; rigid; exact;
rigorous; hard; rough; harsh; censorious; tart;
acrimonious; sarcastic; satirical; cutting; biting;
keen; bitter; cruel. See Strict.
[1913 Webster] -- Se*vere"ly, adv. -- Se*vere"ness,
n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
severely
adv 1: to a severe or serious degree; "fingers so badly frozen
they had to be amputated"; "badly injured"; "a severely
impaired heart"; "is gravely ill"; "was seriously ill"
[syn: badly, severely, gravely, seriously]
2: with sternness; in a severe manner; "`No,' she said sternly";
"peered severely over her glasses" [syn: sternly,
severely]
3: causing great damage or hardship; "industries hit hard by the
depression"; "she was severely affected by the bank's
failure" [syn: hard, severely]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
48 Moby Thesaurus words for "severely":
acutely, ascetically, austerely, awfully, badly, barely, brutally,
coldly, coolly, critically, crudely, cruelly, dangerously, dourly,
dreadfully, entirely, fatally, forbiddingly, fully, gloweringly,
gravely, grievously, grimly, harshly, inhumanly, mercilessly,
modestly, mortally, onerously, painfully, permanently, plainly,
primitively, punitively, relentlessly, rigorously, savagely,
seriously, simply, soberly, sparely, sparsely, starkly, sternly,
strictly, stringently, terminally, tyrannically