Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

severe

/sɪˈvɪɹ/

Press play to hear how to pronounce severe.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:57
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does severe mean?

adjective

  1. Very bad or intense.
  2. Strict or harsh.
  3. Sober, plain in appearance, austere.
More meanings (1)

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/sɪˈvɪɹ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Extremely severe rules had been laid down with regard to the measures to be taken for avoiding the spread of this disease.
René DoumicGeorge Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and WritingsTranslated by Alys HallardProject Gutenberg ebook #138
“Miss Price has a brother at sea,” said Edmund, “whose excellence as a correspondent makes her think you too severe upon us.”
Jane AustenMansfield ParkProject Gutenberg ebook #141
More book examples (3)
She looked at his big head, a disproportionate part of which was occupied by the forehead, and at the direct, severe eyes.
Virginia WoolfThe Voyage OutProject Gutenberg ebook #144
Plain women he regarded as he did the other severe facts of life, to be faced with philosophy and investigated by science.
George EliotMiddlemarchProject Gutenberg ebook #145
The crime of teaching a slave to read is punishable with severe fines and imprisonment, and, in some instances, with death itself.
Frederick DouglassMy Bondage and My FreedomProject Gutenberg ebook #202