SEVERENESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does severeness mean? 

• SEVERENESS (noun)
  The noun SEVERENESS has 4 senses:

1. used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather

2. something hard to endure

3. extreme plainness

4. excessive sternness

  Familiarity information: SEVERENESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SEVERENESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

badness; severeness; severity

Hypernyms ("severeness" is a kind of...):

intensity; intensiveness (high level or degree; the property of being intense)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "severeness"):

foulness; raininess ((of weather) the badness of the weather)

distressfulness; seriousness (the quality of arousing fear or distress)

Derivation:

bad (very intense)

severe (causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm)

severe (intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality)

severe (very strong or vigorous)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something hard to endure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

asperity; grimness; hardship; rigor; rigorousness; rigour; rigourousness; severeness; severity

Context example:

the asperity of northern winters

Hypernyms ("severeness" is a kind of...):

difficultness; difficulty (the quality of being difficult)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "severeness"):

sternness (the quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding)

Derivation:

severe (intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Extreme plainness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

austereness; severeness; severity

Hypernyms ("severeness" is a kind of...):

plainness (the appearance of being plain and unpretentious)

Derivation:

severe (severely simple)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Excessive sternness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

hardness; harshness; inclemency; rigor; rigorousness; rigour; rigourousness; severeness; severity; stiffness

Context example:

the rigors of boot camp

Hypernyms ("severeness" is a kind of...):

sternness; strictness (uncompromising resolution)

Derivation:

severe (unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment)