severity

noun

se·​ver·​i·​ty sə-ˈver-ə-tē 

: the quality or state of being severe : the condition of being very bad, serious, unpleasant, or harsh

the severity of the climate

the severity of the punishment

Medication can help shorten the illness and lessen its severity.

To make all coastal residents more aware of the severity of the cyclone hazard, and to increase faith and trust in evacuation orders, the emergency personnel must educate them about the benefits of taking refuge in public shelters prior to an approaching cyclone.

—Bimal Kanti Paul

A dog, like a human, is prone to two broadly defined types of bone fracture—open and closed. Within each category, breaks of varying severity may occur.

—Tom Ewing

Synonyms

• exactingness
• hardness
• harshness
• inflexibility
• rigidity
• rigidness
• rigor
• rigorousness
• sternness
• strictness
• stringency

Examples of severity in a Sentence

even though no one expected the film to be a hit with the critics, the director was taken aback by the severity of the criticism

Recent Examples on the Web

Since the intelligence agencies do not usually bother to debunk such individual bits of false propaganda, the sudden flurry of public notifications indicates the severity of the threat that U.S. spies now see in the underlying Russian plot against the election. —The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024

The amount represents around 44 percent of the agency's entire two-year budget, underscoring the severity of the situation, as the commission struggles to manage the state's oil and gas industry effectively. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

In social media posts, victims of the fire detailed the severity of the incident, reporting that two houses were completely destroyed, while some other nearby homes and vehicles suffered significant damage. —Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 2 Nov. 2024

Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday signal a departure from Iran’s initial attempts to downplay the severity of the strikes carried out by Israel on October 25. —Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

severity

noun

se·​ver·​i·​ty

sə-ˈver-ət-ē

plural severities

: the quality or state of being severe