How to Use sever in a Sentence

sever

verb
  • He severed the lowest tree limbs.
  • His finger was severed in the accident.
  • Activists are asking the government to sever all diplomatic relations with the country.
  • In 1994, the mainline Churches of Christ severed ties with the group.
    Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2023
  • The train crushed and nearly severed his right foot and his left leg at the knee.
    Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2023
  • Then, as the weather cools, cells at the base of the antlers sever the connection to the skull.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2022
  • Aubrey was pulled almost out of the window, and the strap severed her feet.
    David Chiu, Peoplemag, 26 Dec. 2023
  • Saldívar then pulled out her gun and shot the singer in the back, severing an artery.
    Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 17 Feb. 2024
  • The union of this slugger and this franchise makes too much sense to sever.
    Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2022
  • At one point, viewers can see where the tail is severed.
    Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2024
  • An uncle is a bond of faith that even time can't sever, a gift to last all of our lives.
    Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 8 Aug. 2023
  • In 1971, Arthur Burns begged Richard Nixon to not sever the dollar’s link to gold.
    John Tamny, Forbes, 7 May 2023
  • With the kit in hand, use a utility knife to make a straight, clean cut to sever the damaged end of the hose.
    Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2024
  • Slide the knife under the oyster to sever the muscle from the bottom shell.
    Katlyn Moncada, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The pipe was cracked, severing the water supply and flooding the first floor of the station.
    John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2023
  • Now, the ease with which people move from place to place, and rise in online banking, has severed that link.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2023
  • One wing is severed, the fuselage is ripped in two, the cockpit crushed and the front half of the plane slides down a glacier that became known as the Valley of Tears.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The charge was severed from the rest of the case when Bankman-Fried was convicted at trial in November.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 29 Dec. 2023
  • Rescuers were able to loosen the gear one cut at a time, and once the stretch of rope running through the whale's mouth and around its tail was severed, the humpback swam away.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2023
  • Shrapnel from the second shell hit Mr. Dagan in the neck, severing an artery and killing him, his wife said.
    Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The collapse severed the economic lifeline in and out of the region.
    Colin Dickey, Popular Mechanics, 31 Aug. 2023
  • When Elmer uses his scissors to sever the vines tethering Boris to the crater at the heart of the island, the two become fast friends.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Oct. 2022
  • In the study, researchers severed both strands of the DNA molecule in cells from humans, cows, mice and bowhead whales.
    Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
  • In the video, Goldberg-Polin’s left arm was severed below his elbow.
    Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 24 June 2024
  • Hersh last seen in a video released by Hamas in April with his left arm severed below his elbow.
    ABC News, 9 June 2024
  • Gage had broken his back and severed his spinal cord in an accident.
    John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2023
  • It was fully severed when, in 2012, Firkus remarried, vowing to spend the rest of his life with the sister of a close friend of Heidi's.
    Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2023
  • The schools were ​intended to sever the children from their culture, language, and religion.
    Ian Austen, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Mar. 2022
  • Her death from hypothermia in the season finale severs the Yellowjackets’ last tie to the old social order.
    Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
  • Williams currently is on trial with five co-defendants in the case after more than 20 others charged in the indictment either took plea deals or had their cases severed.
    Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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