severe
adjective
- of great (negative) significance; to an extreme (negative) degree
- of a strict, stern, or harsh bearing or manner
- aesthetically harsh, austere
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /sɪˈvɪə/ / /sɪˈvɪɹ/ / /sɪˈviːɹ/
adj
Etymology: From Middle French, from Latin severus (“severe, serious, grave in demeanor”).
- Very bad or intense.
“In the severer cases of hookworm the patient sometimes has an appetite for soil, paper, hair, clay, chalk, starch, and other unpalatables.”
“Parkinsonism, at its severest, presents itself as an akinetic amimia (as opposed to certain cortical disorders which are amimic akinesias).”
- Strict or harsh.
“a severe taskmaster”
- Sober, plain in appearance, austere.
“a severe old maiden aunt”
“severe clothing”
name
- A surname.