Need another word that means the same as “severe”? Find 126 synonyms and 30 related words for “severe” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Severe” are: spartan, austere, stark, stern, terrible, wicked, hard, knockout, dangerous, grave, grievous, life-threatening, serious, acute, very bad, critical, dire, drastic, extreme, dreadful, awful, frightful, appalling, sore, fierce, violent, strong, wild, powerful, forceful, intense, excruciating, agonizing, unbearable, intolerable, unendurable, very difficult, demanding, tough, arduous, formidable, taxing, exacting, rigorous, punishing, onerous, gruelling, burdensome, heavy, harsh, bitter, cold, bleak, freezing, icy, arctic, polar, siberian, nasty, scathing, sharp, ferocious, stringent, savage, blistering, searing, stinging, scorching, devastating, mordant, trenchant, caustic, biting, cutting, withering, unsparing, extortionate, excessive, unreasonable, inordinate, outrageous, stiff, strict, inflexible, uncompromising, inexorable, implacable, rigid, unbending, relentless, unrelenting, unyielding, merciless, pitiless, ruthless, draconian, oppressive, repressive, punitive, rough, dour, grim, forbidding, disapproving, unsmiling, unfriendly, sombre, sober, flinty, stony, steely, glowering, frowning, plain, simple, restrained, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, unornamented, chaste, spare, unfussy, ascetic, monastic, puritanical
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “severe” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| acute | Denoting or designed for patients with an acute form of a disease. An acute or critical lack of research funds. |
| agonizing | Extremely painful. There is an agonizing choice to make. |
| appalling | Causing shock or dismay; horrific. Appalling conditions. |
| arctic | Extremely cold. An arctic climate. |
| arduous | Taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance- F.D.Roosevelt. The arduous work of preparing a dictionary. |
| ascetic | Pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self discipline. Ascetic practices. |
| austere | Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect. An austere expression. |
| awful | Extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact. You look awful you should go and lie down. |
| biting | (of insects and certain other animals) able to wound the skin with a sting or fangs. His biting satire on corruption and power. |
| bitter | Painful or unpleasant to accept or contemplate. A bitter five year legal battle. |
| bleak | (of the weather) cold and miserable. He paints a bleak picture of a company that has lost its way. |
| blistering | Harsh or corrosive in tone. The blistering heat of the desert. |
| burdensome | Not easily borne; wearing. The burdensome task of preparing the income tax return. |
| caustic | Harsh or corrosive in tone. The players were making caustic comments about the refereeing. |
| chaste | Pure and simple in design or style. A chaste consoling embrace. |
| cold | Of a person feeling uncomfortably cold. A cold impersonal manner. |
| critical | (of a text) incorporating a detailed and scholarly analysis and commentary. A critical element of the plan. |
| cutting | Capable of cutting something. A cutting remark. |
| dangerous | Able or likely to cause harm or injury. A dangerous criminal. |
| demanding | Requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill. A baby can be so demanding. |
| devastating | Physically or spiritually devastating often used in combination. The news came as a devastating blow. |
| dire | Causing fear or dread or terror. Misuse of drugs can have dire consequences. |
| disapproving | Expressing an unfavourable opinion. He shot a disapproving glance at her. |
| dour | Harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance. A dour self sacrificing life. |
| draconian | (of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe. The Nazis destroyed the independence of the press by a series of draconian laws. |
| drastic | Likely to have a strong or far-reaching effect; radical and extreme. A drastic reduction of staffing levels. |
| dreadful | Causing fear or dread or terror. A dreadful storm. |
| exacting | Making great demands on one’s skill, attention, or other resources. An exacting instructor. |
| excessive | Beyond normal limits. He was drinking excessive amounts of brandy. |
| excruciating | Very embarrassing, awkward, or tedious. He explained the procedure in excruciating detail. |
| extortionate | Using or given to extortion. 2 700 for that guitar is extortionate. |
| extreme | Of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity. The extreme north west of Scotland. |
| ferocious | Marked by extreme and violent energy. A ferocious battle. |
| fierce | Fashionable or attractive in a bold or striking way. Fierce storms lashed the country. |
| flinty | (of a person or their expression) very hard and unyielding. His flinty gaze. |
| forbidding | Unfriendly or threatening in appearance. Forbidding thunderclouds. |
| forceful | Forceful and definite in expression or action. A forceful speaker. |
| formidable | Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable. The challenge was formidable. |
| freezing | (used hyperbolically) very cold. He was freezing and miserable. |
| frightful | Very unpleasant, serious, or shocking. A frightful mistake. |
| frowning | Forming an expression of disapproval, displeasure, or concentration by furrowing one’s brows. The young writer pitched his screenplay to a frowning producer. |
| glowering | Showing a brooding ill humor. |
| grave | Causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm. A grave God fearing man. |
| grievous | Causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm. A grievous cry. |
| grim | (especially of a place) unattractive or forbidding. Grim laughter. |
| gruelling | Characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort. A gruelling schedule. |
| hard | Unfortunate or hard to bear. The hard light of morning. |
| harsh | Unpleasantly stern. The harsh white light makes you screw up your eyes. |
| heavy | Large and powerful especially designed for heavy loads or rough work. A heavy heart. |
| icy | Devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain. Her voice was icy. |
| implacable | Incapable of being placated. He was an implacable enemy of Ted s. |
| inexorable | Impossible to stop or prevent. The doctors were inexorable and there was nothing to be done. |
| inflexible | Resistant to being bent. An inflexible law. |
| inordinate | Unusually or disproportionately large; excessive. The case had taken up an inordinate amount of time. |
| intense | Extremely sharp or intense. Intense itching and burning. |
| intolerable | Incapable of being tolerated or endured. An intolerable degree of sentimentality. |
| knockout | Very strong or vigorous. A knockout punch. |
| life-threatening | Causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm. |
| merciless | Showing no mercy. A merciless attack with a blunt instrument. |
| monastic | Resembling or suggestive of monks or their way of life, especially in being austere, solitary, or celibate. She set her things round the monastic student bedroom. |
| mordant | Of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action. Fun ranging from slapstick clowning to savage mordant wit. |
| nasty | Very bad or unpleasant. It s a nasty old night. |
| onerous | Not easily borne; wearing. My duties weren t onerous I only had to greet the guests. |
| oppressive | Weighing heavily on the senses or spirit. Oppressive sorrows. |
| outrageous | Wildly exaggerated or improbable. Spends an outrageous amount on entertainment. |
| pitiless | (especially of weather) unrelentingly harsh or severe. A night of pitiless rain. |
| plain | Lacking in physical beauty or proportion. A plain girl with a freckled face. |
| polar | Having electrical or magnetic polarity. Extreme and indefensible polar positions. |
| powerful | Possessing physical strength and weight rugged and powerful. The most powerful government in western Europe. |
| punishing | Severe and debilitating. The band s punishing tour schedule. |
| punitive | (of a tax or other charge) extremely high. He called for punitive measures against the Eastern bloc. |
| puritanical | Having or displaying a very strict or censorious moral attitude towards self-indulgence or sex. His puritanical parents saw any kind of pleasure as the road to damnation. |
| relentless | Not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty. Relentless persecution. |
| repressive | Inhibiting or preventing the expression or awareness of thoughts or desires. A repressive moral code. |
| restrained | Under restraint. His restrained gentlemanly voice. |
| rigid | Fixed and unmoving- Connor Cruise O’Brien. A face rigid with pain. |
| rigorous | Extremely thorough and careful. The rigorous testing of consumer products. |
| rough | (of an area or occasion) characterized by violent behaviour. A rough answer. |
| ruthless | Having or showing no pity or compassion for others. A ruthless manipulator. |
| savage | (of a person or group) primitive and uncivilized. A savage race. |
| scathing | Witheringly scornful; severely critical. She launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister. |
| scorching | Hot and dry enough to burn or parch a surface. Scorching heat. |
| searing | Having lost all moisture. A searing indictment of the government s performance. |
| serious | (of music, literature, or other art forms) requiring or meriting deep reflection. The plan has a serious flaw. |
| sharp | Keenly and painfully felt as if caused by a sharp edge or point. C sharp. |
| siberian | Of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f’, `s’, `z’, or `th’ in both `thin’ and `then. |
| simple | Denoting a group that has no proper normal subgroup. Simple mechanisms. |
| sober | Muted in colour. As sober as a judge. |
| sombre | Dark or dull in colour or tone. The night skies were sombre and starless. |
| sore | Severe; urgent. It was a sore trial to him. |
| spare | Kept in reserve especially for emergency use. He tried to write poetry in his spare time. |
| spartan | Practicing great self-denial- William James. A spartan existence. |
| stark | Severely simple. A stark interior. |
| steely | Resembling steel as in hardness. There was a steely edge to his questions. |
| stern | Of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor forbidding in aspect. The past year has been a stern test of the ability of British industry. |
| stiff | Incapable of or resistant to bending. She was scared stiff. |
| stinging | Having a sting; capable of wounding or piercing with a sting. A swarm of stinging insects. |
| stony | Hard as granite. Lucenzo s hard stony eyes. |
| strict | Characterized by strictness severity or restraint. My father was very strict. |
| stringent | (of regulations, requirements, or conditions) strict, precise, and exacting. Stringent safety measures. |
| strong | Relating to or denoting the strongest of the known kinds of force between particles which acts between nucleons and other hadrons when closer than about 10 cm so binding protons in a nucleus despite the repulsion due to their charge and which conserves strangeness parity and isospin. A cup of strong coffee. |
| taxing | Not easily borne; wearing. A taxing schedule. |
| terrible | Used to emphasize the extent of something unpleasant or bad. The weather was terrible. |
| tough | Physically toughened. A tough break. |
| trenchant | Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect. A trenchant argument. |
| unadorned | Not decorated with something to increase its beauty or distinction. The unadorned truth. |
| unbearable | Incapable of being tolerated or endured. The heat was getting unbearable. |
| unbending | Reserved, formal, or strict in one’s behaviour or attitudes; austere and inflexible. An unbending will to dominate. |
| uncompromising | Not making concessions. Uncompromising honesty. |
| undecorated | Not adorned or decorated. The walls were completely undecorated. |
| unembellished | Lacking embellishment or ornamentation. The unembellished truth. |
| unendurable | Not able to be tolerated or endured. Cries of unendurable suffering. |
| unfriendly | Not friendly. She shot him an unfriendly glance. |
| unfussy | Not fussy. A simple unfussy design. |
| unornamented | Lacking embellishment or ornamentation. An unornamented two storey building. |
| unreasonable | Not guided by or based on good sense. Unreasonable demands. |
| unrelenting | Punishingly harsh. The heat was unrelenting. |
| unsmiling | (of a person or their manner or expression) serious or unfriendly; not smiling. A large unsmiling woman. |
| unsparing | Very generous. An unsparing critic. |
| unyielding | Stubbornly unyielding. The Atlantic hurled its waves at the unyielding rocks. |
| very bad | Being the exact same one; not any other. |
| very difficult | Being the exact same one; not any other. |
| violent | Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions inclined to react violently fervid. A violent death. |
| wicked | Having committed unrighteous acts. Despite the sun the wind outside was wicked. |
| wild | Produced from wild animals or plants without cultivation. The wild coastline of Cape Wrath. |
| withering | (of heat) intense; scorching. To compliments inflated I ve a withering reply. |
| acute | Denoting or designed for patients with an acute form of a disease. The acute phase of the illness. |
| ascetic | A person who follows an ascetic life. Ascetic practices. |
| asperity | Harsh qualities or conditions. The asperity of northern winters. |
| austere | Severely simple. He was an austere man with a rigidly puritanical outlook. |
| biting | Causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold. His biting satire on corruption and power. |
| demanding | Requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill. He was a demanding baby and rarely slept through the night. |
| draconian | (of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe. The Nazis destroyed the independence of the press by a series of draconian laws. |
| exacting | Making great demands on one’s skill, attention, or other resources. Certain highly specialized xerophytes are extremely exacting in their requirements. |
| extreme | The highest or most extreme degree of something. Extreme danger. |
| grave | Carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface. A grave situation. |
| grievous | Of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought. A grievous crime. |
| harsh | Disagreeable to the senses. Drenched in a harsh white neon light. |
| inflexible | Not able to be changed or adapted to particular circumstances. An inflexible knife blade. |
| intense | Extremely sharp or intense. The heat was intense. |
| martinet | A person who demands complete obedience; a strict disciplinarian. The woman in charge was a martinet who treated all those beneath her like children. |
| pitiless | Without mercy or pity. A night of pitiless rain. |
| pungent | (of comment, criticism, or humour) having a sharp and caustic quality. The pungent taste of radishes. |
| rigorous | Rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard. Rigorous discipline. |
| rushing | (of a player) advancing rapidly towards an opposing player, especially the quarterback. Responders attempted to shut off the rushing water. |
| serious | Requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve. A serious attempt to learn to ski. |
| seriousness | The trait of being serious- Robert Rice. He learned the seriousness of his illness. |
| severity | Something hard to endure. Sentences should reflect the severity of the crime. |
| spartan | Practicing great self-denial. Spartan courage. |
| stoutly | In a resolute manner. The houses are built stoutly of granite. |
| stringency | A state occasioned by scarcity of money and a shortage of credit. |
| stringent | Demanding strict attention to rules and procedures. Stringent guidelines on air pollution. |
| stringently | In a stringent manner. Stringently controlled. |
| ultimate | Denoting the maximum possible strength or resistance beyond which an object breaks. One s ultimate goal in life. |
| unkind | Inconsiderate and harsh to others. You were terribly unkind to her. |
| unrelenting | Harsh. The heat was unrelenting. |
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