severe

If something is severe, it’s serious, dangerous, deep, or very strong.

• Many schools are closed today due to severe weather.
• Severe cold can cause problems for a car.
• Severe cold can result in frosbite for a person’s hands or feet.
• Scientists warn of severe problems for the planet if we don’t take climate protection seriously.
• A headache can cause severe pain.
• Severe back pain affects many people.
• Renee suffers from severe depression.
• Noah received a severe cut to his hand while slicing some meat with a sharp knife.
• Hospitals treat severe injuries every day.

The word "severely" is an adverb:

• Severely dry skin can cause itching.
• A severely depressed person might need treatment.
• A woman severely beaten by her husband drove herself to the hospital.

The word "severity" is a noun:

• No one realized the severity of the situation until it was too late.
• The severity of the young man’s illness was not apparent until he died.
• The severity of the punishment–life in prison–was justified by the nature of the defendant’s crime.

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January 28, 2019