adj. 25B6; adjective
severe injuries : ACUTE, very bad, serious, grave, critical, dreadful, terrible, awful; dangerous, parlous, life-threatening; formal grievous.
severe storms : FIERCE, violent, strong, powerful, intense; tempestuous, turbulent.
a severe winter : HARSH, bitter, cold, bleak, freezing, icy, arctic, extreme.
a severe headache : EXCRUCIATING, agonizing, intense, dreadful, awful, terrible, unbearable, intolerable; informal splitting, pounding.
a severe test of their stamina : DIFFICULT, demanding, tough, arduous, formidable, exacting, rigorous, punishing, onerous, gruelling.
severe criticism : HARSH, scathing, sharp, strong, fierce, savage, scorching, devastating, trenchant, caustic, biting, withering.
severe tax penalties : EXTORTIONATE, excessive, unreasonable, inordinate, outrageous, sky-high, harsh, stiff; punitive; Brit. swingeing.
they received severe treatment : HARSH, stern, hard, inflexible, uncompromising, unrelenting, merciless, pitiless, ruthless, draconian, oppressive, repressive, punitive; brutal, cruel, savage.
his severe expression : STERN, dour, grim, forbidding, disapproving, unsmiling, unfriendly, sombre, grave, serious, stony, steely; cold, frosty.
a severe style of architecture : PLAIN, simple, austere, unadorned, unembellished, unornamented, stark, spartan, ascetic; clinical, uncluttered.
minor, gentle, mild, easy, lenient, friendly, ornate.