noun
Meaning 1
The state of being severe.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
severity
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /sɪˈvɛɹ.ɪ.ti/
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General-American: /səˈvɛɹ.ə.ti/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛɹɪti
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CMU ARPABET: S IH0 V EH1 R IH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
The degree of something undesirable; badness or seriousness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
- The severity of the offence merits a long prison sentence.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
excessive sternness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- severity of character
- the harshness of his punishment was inhuman
- the rigors of boot camp
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: severeness, harshness, rigor, rigour, rigorousness, rigourousness, inclemency, hardness, stiffness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sternness, strictness
noun
Meaning 4
extreme plainness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: austereness, severeness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: plainness
noun
Meaning 5
something hard to endure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the asperity of northern winters
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: asperity, grimness, hardship, rigor, rigour, severeness, rigorousness, rigourousness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: difficulty, difficultness
Narrower terms: sternness
noun
Meaning 6
used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: badness, severeness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: intensity, intensiveness
Narrower terms: foulness, raininess, seriousness, distressfulness
History
Etymology
From Middle English severity, from Middle French severite (modern French sévérité), from Latin sevēritās. By surface analysis, severe + -ity.
Across languages
Translations
52 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: صَرَامَة (ṣarāma) — state of being severe
- Bulgarian: стро́гост (strógost) — state of being severe
- Bulgarian: суровост (surovost) — state of being severe
- Catalan: severitat — state of being severe
- Chinese Mandarin: 严厉 (yánlì) — state of being severe
- Czech: vážnost (situace) — state of being severe
- Czech: kritičnost — state of being severe
- Czech: závažnost — state of being severe
- Dutch: ernst — state of being severe
- Dutch: strengheid — state of being severe
- Esperanto: severeco — state of being severe
- Finnish: vakavuus — state of being severe
- Finnish: ankaruus — state of being severe
- Finnish: kovuus — state of being severe
- French: sévérité — state of being severe
- Gothic: 𐍈𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌴𐌹 (ƕassei) — state of being severe
- Ancient Greek: χαλεπότης (khalepótēs) — state of being severe
- Irish: anróiteacht — state of being severe
- Italian: severità — state of being severe
- Korean: 엄격함 (eomgyeokham) — state of being severe
- Korean: 심각함 (simgakham) — state of being severe
- Latin: severitas — state of being severe
- Māori: pākahatanga — state of being severe
- Portuguese: gravidade — state of being severe
- Portuguese: severidade — state of being severe
- Romanian: severitate — state of being severe
- Romanian: asprime — state of being severe
- Russian: стро́гость (strógostʹ) — state of being severe
- Spanish: severidad — state of being severe
- Turkish: vehamet — state of being severe
- Turkish: şiddet — state of being severe
- Ottoman Turkish: شدت (şiddet) — state of being severe
- Volapük: sevär — state of being severe
- Chinese Mandarin: 严肃性 (yánsùxìng) — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Czech: závažnost — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Dutch: ernst — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Dutch: ongewenstheid — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Dutch: slechtheid — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Finnish: pahuus — degree of something undesirable; badness
- French: gravité — degree of something undesirable; badness
- German: Härte — degree of something undesirable; badness
- German: Stärke — degree of something undesirable; badness
- German: Gewichtung — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Italian: gravità — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Italian: serietà — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Persian: شدت (šeddat) — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Russian: суро́вость (suróvostʹ) — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Spanish: seriedad — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Spanish: severidad — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Spanish: gravedad — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Turkish: derece — degree of something undesirable; badness
- Turkish: ciddiyet — degree of something undesirable; badness
Real reading context