Definition of "severe" []

• Unsparing, harsh, or strict, as in treatment of others: a severe critic. (adjective)
• Marked by or requiring strict adherence to rigorous standards or high principles: a severe code of behavior. (adjective)
• Stern or forbidding, as in manner or appearance: spoke in a severe voice. (adjective)
• Extremely plain in substance or style: a severe black dress. (adjective)
• Causing great discomfort, damage, or distress: a severe pain; a severe storm. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I opened up Firefox this evening to a severe weather alert from ForecastFox…which surprised me, given that it’s lovely weather: a bit of clouds, maybe some rain later, but nothing I’d call *severe*!"
• "For example, we've estimated the distribution of a strong ground shaking because it's not always the epicenter, it's distributed along the fault, and we can estimate how much shaking actually occurred, and we estimated that close to three-fourths of a million people experienced vital to extreme shaking with very heavy damage and an additional 2 million people on top of that experienced what we term severe shaking, also expecting heavy damage."
• "The phrase "severe reality distortion field" is probably not one you bump into every day."