severe

Bridgezipf 4.56

Pronunciation

/sɪˈvɪə/(sih-VEER)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

严重的；严厉的；极端的（在程度上非常强烈，或非常严格）

Definition

Very great in degree or intensity; causing serious difficulty; strict and harsh.

Word family

  • severely/sɪˈvɪəli/(adv)严重地；严厉地
  • severity/sɪˈverɪti/(n)严重性；严厉

Collocations

  • severe impact
  • severe consequences
  • severe shortage
  • severe criticism
  • severe penalty
  • increasingly severe

Examples

  1. 1.The drought has had severe consequences for agricultural output across the entire region this year.
  2. 2.The regulator imposed severe financial penalties on the firm for repeated breaches of consumer protection rules.

Synonyms

  • serious/ˈsɪəriəs/— of great severity
  • extreme/ɪkˈstriːm/— very great in degree
  • harsh/hɑːʃ/— unpleasantly severe

Etymology

from Latin "severus" (serious, strict)