severe
adjective
[ sɪˈvɪə ]
• (of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense.
• "a severe shortage of technicians"
Similar:
acute,
very bad,
serious,
grave,
critical,
dire,
drastic,
grievous,
extreme,
dreadful,
terrible,
awful,
frightful,
appalling,
sore,
alarming,
worrying,
distressing,
dangerous,
perilous,
life-threatening,
peracute,
profound,
parlous,
fierce,
violent,
strong,
wild,
powerful,
forceful,
intense,
tempestuous,
turbulent,
tumultuous,
excruciating,
agonizing,
unbearable,
intolerable,
unendurable,
stabbing,
shooting,
splitting,
thumping,
pounding,
• (of punishment of a person) strict or harsh.
• "the charges would have warranted a severe sentence"
Similar:
harsh,
hard,
bitter,
bitterly cold,
cold,
bleak,
freezing,
icy,
arctic,
polar,
Siberian,
extreme,
nasty,
scathing,
sharp,
strong,
fierce,
ferocious,
stringent,
savage,
blistering,
searing,
stinging,
scorching,
devastating,
mordant,
trenchant,
caustic,
biting,
cutting,
withering,
rigorous,
unsparing,
smart,
sound,
extortionate,
excessive,
unreasonable,
inordinate,
outrageous,
sky-high,
stiff,
punitive,
punishing,
penal,
swingeing,
strict,
stern,
inflexible,
uncompromising,
inexorable,
implacable,
rigid,
unbending,
relentless,
unrelenting,
unyielding,
merciless,
pitiless,
ruthless,
draconian,
oppressive,
repressive,
rough,
tyrannical,
iron-fisted,
iron-handed,
brutal,
inhuman,
cruel,
solid,
• very plain in style or appearance.
• "she wore another severe suit, grey this time"
Similar:
plain,
simple,
restrained,
unadorned,
undecorated,
unembellished,
unornamented,
austere,
chaste,
spare,
stark,
ultra-plain,
unfussy,
without frills,
spartan,
ascetic,
monastic,
puritanical,
functional,
clinical,
uncluttered,
classic,
Origin:
mid 16th century (in severe (sense 2)): from French sévère or Latin severus .
