What is the difference between severe and extreme?
severe | extreme | Synonyms |
Very bad or intense.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
, author=Donald Worster
, title=A Drier and Hotter Future
, volume=100, issue=1, page=70
, magazine=
Strict or harsh.
Sober, plain in appearance, austere.
Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost.
In the greatest or highest degree; intense.
* , chapter=13
, title= Excessive, or far beyond the norm.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
, author=Frank Fish, George Lauder, volume=101, issue=2, page=114, magazine=(American Scientist)
, title= Drastic, or of great severity.
Of sports, difficult or dangerous; performed in a hazardous environment.
(archaic) Ultimate, final or last.
The greatest or utmost point, degree or condition.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2
, passage=Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.
Each of the things at opposite ends of a range or scale.
A drastic expedient.
(mathematics) Either of the two numbers at the ends of a proportion, as 1'' and ''6'' in ''1:2=3:6 .
(archaic) Extremely.
* 1796 Charles Burney, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Metastasio 2.5:
Extreme is a synonym of severe.
As adjectives the difference between severe and extreme
is that severe is very bad or intense while extreme is of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost.As a noun extreme is
the greatest or utmost point, degree or condition.As an adverb extreme is
extremely.severe
English
Adjective
(er)citation, passage=Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.}}
Synonyms
* brutal * extreme * hard * harsh * intense * rigorous * seriousAntonyms
* (very bad or intense) mild * (very bad or intense) minor * (strict or harsh) lenientDerived terms
* severely (adverb) * severity (noun) * severeness (noun)External links
* * *Anagrams
* ----extreme
English
Adjective
(en-adj)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.}}
Not Just Going with the Flow, passage=An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex . The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.}}
- the extreme hour of life
Synonyms
* (place) farthest, furthest, most distant, outermost, remotest * (in greatest or highest degree) greatest, highest * (excessive) excessive, too much * (drastic) drastic, severe * (sports) dangerous * (ultimate) final, last, ultimateAntonyms
* (place) closest, nearest * (in greatest or highest degree) least * (excessive) moderate, reasonable * (drastic) moderate, reasonableDerived terms
* extremenessNoun
(en noun)Adverb
(en adverb)- In the empty and extreme cold theatre.