01 a. Serious in feeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not light, lively, or cheerful.
-
1.
Serious in feeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not light, lively, or cheerful.“Your looks alter, as your subject does, From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe.” — Waller.
-
2.
Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh; not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism; severe punishment.“Come! you are too severe a moraler.” — Shak.“Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be always more severe against thyself than against others.” — Jer. Taylor.
-
3.
Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle; exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; -- said of style, argument, etc.“The Latin, a most severe and compendious language.” — Dryden.
-
4.
Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as, severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold.
-
5.
Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a severe test.