Another word for severe
severe
modif.
Stern
stern, exacting, uncompromising, unbending, inflexible, unchanging, unalterable, inexorable, harsh, cruel, oppressive, close, grinding, peremptory, obdurate, resolute, austere, rigid, grim, earnest, stiff, forbidding, resolved, relentless, strait-laced, determined, unfeeling, insensate, with an iron will, strict, inconsiderate, firm, immovable, as firm as the Rock of Gibraltar, adamant, unyielding.
Difficult or rigorous
overbearing, tyrannical, mordant, sharp, exacting, stringent, drastic, domineering, rigid, oppressive, despotic, unmerciful, bullying, uncompromising, obdurate, relentless, unrelenting, hard, rigorous, austere, grinding, ascetic, grim, implacable, cruel, pitiless, critical, unjust, barbarous, censorious, crusty, gruff, crabbed, unmitigated, intractable, stubborn, autocratic, Draconian, with a heart of granite, stony-hearted, hard-shell*, rock-ribbed*, hidebound*; see also difficult 1.
severe applies to a person or thing that is strict, uncompromising, or restrained and connotes a total absence of softness, laxity, frivolity, etc. a severe critic, hairdo, etc. and may often imply harshness severe punishment, a severe tornado; stern implies an unyielding firmness, esp. as manifested in a grim or forbidding aspect or manner a stern guardian; austere suggests harsh restraint, self-denial, stark simplicity the austere diet of wartime, or an absence of warmth, passion, ornamentation, etc. an austere bedroom; ascetic implies extreme self-denial and self-discipline or even, sometimes, the deliberate self-infliction of pain and discomfort, as by religious fanatics an ascetic hermit
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Another word for severe
Rigorous and unsparing in treating others:
demanding, exacting, hard, harsh, rigid, stern, strict, tough, unyielding. See easyCold and forbidding:
austere, bleak, dour, grim, hard, harsh, stark. See attitude, hotCausing sharp, often prolonged discomfort:
bitter, brutal, hard, harsh, rough. See comfortConveying great physical force:
hard, heavy, hefty, powerful. See bigHaving great consequence or weight:
earnest1, grave2, heavy, momentous, serious, weighty. See importantCausing or marked by danger or pain, for example:
dangerous, grave2, grievous, serious. See helpRequiring great or extreme bodily, mental, or spiritual strength:
arduous, backbreaking, burdensome, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, exigent, formidable, hard, heavy, laborious, onerous, oppressive, rigorous, rough, taxing, tough, trying, weighty. See heavy
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