severely

adverb

Definition of severelynext
1
as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering the building was severely damaged by the explosion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in extremely
to a great degree the rescued mountain climbers were severely dehydrated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of severely The Supreme Court severely weakened Humphrey’s six years ago. — Laurent Belsie, Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2026 Atmos is already facing a lawsuit over the explosion from a resident who was severely burned. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 1 July 2026 Critics say the earthquake has severely damaged that narrative. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026 At a time when exports from their home markets have been severely constrained, such international investments are only rising in importance. — Dominic Dudley, semafor.com, 30 June 2026 Nearby Elephant Butte Lake, a draw for outdoorsy tourists, is so severely drought-depleted that sunbaked fish carcasses line its shores. — Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026 With Pino and Williams potentially unavailable, Spain’s options in the wide areas are severely limited. — Pol Ballús, New York Times, 27 June 2026 In 2024, a mountain lion attacked and killed Taylen Brooks, 21, and severely wounded his brother, Wyatt, 18. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2026 Unlike student loans, parents are solely responsible for this debt, which can severely impact their financial security, competing with retirement savings and essential living costs. — True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for severely
  1. harshly
  2. extremely
  3. oppressively
  4. terribly
  5. brutally
  6. incredibly
  7. hard
  8. badly
Adverb
  • Overthinking and procrastination are two of the habits people confess to most readily and blame on themselves most harshly, and two of the habits most often misread.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • That can be useful because jurors can be more reluctant to sentence a woman harshly, writes Victor Streib, a law professor at Elon University in North Carolina who has researched the treatment of women on death row.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 29 June 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • The team turned to the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, a stadium-sized synchrotron facility that produces extremely bright X-ray beams.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 July 2026
  • Teasing out the impact of a small dose of radiation that occurs in addition to all those other exposures is extremely challenging, and the impact of extremely low exposures has not been decisively demonstrated.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 6 July 2026
Definition of extremely
Adverb
  • The oppressively hot and steamy weather was no deterrent for the crowds that lined up along Crandon Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate America’s independence at Key Biscayne’s 67th Fourth of July parade.
    — Pedro Portal, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
  • Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.
    — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
Definition of oppressively
Adverb
  • But everyone on the Spurs shot terribly from deep in the clutch.
    — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 June 2026
  • Wonderfully and terribly, everything does happen for Maddie after her adoring bear of a husband, Jake (Eric Rahill), makes a cooking video of her that goes massively viral.
    — Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • Instead, the Philippine independence movement was brutally suppressed.
    — Ron Chernow, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • On a brutally hot afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the site of the World Cup final in July 19, France outshot Sweden 25-7, including 15-3 in the first half.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of brutally
Adverb
  • Each location was incredibly challenging, but each location was challenging in a different way.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 6 July 2026
  • Dan, your schedule is incredibly busy with this, Rick and Morty, Krapopolis and execing on Haunted Hotel.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • Buying a first home has never been harder Are first-time home buyers a vanishing breed?
    — Kristin Scharkey, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • So that’s kind of hard, because last year was a big year for, like, health-wise for my wife.
    — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Definition of hard
Adverb
  • On the way to the oyster farm, Luke asks about a ring Joy is wearing, which turns out to be from an engagement that ended badly.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 30 June 2026
  • Two men were badly burned—one died, and the other remains hospitalized—and the Fiorella’s owners lost two more skiffs.
    — Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
Definition of badly

Browse Nearby Words

severed
severely
severeness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Severely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/severely. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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