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Severe vs Intensive - What's the difference?

severe | intensive |

As adjectives the difference between severe and intensive

is that severe is very bad or intense while intensive is thorough, to a great degree, with intensity.

As a noun intensive is

form of a word with a stronger or more forceful sense than the root on which the intensive is built.

severe

English

Adjective

(er)
  • 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= 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.}}
  • Strict or harsh.
  • Sober, plain in appearance, austere.
  • Synonyms

    * brutal * extreme * hard * harsh * intense * rigorous * serious

    Antonyms

    * (very bad or intense) mild * (very bad or intense) minor * (strict or harsh) lenient

    Derived terms

    * severely (adverb) * severity (noun) * severeness (noun)

    Anagrams

    * ----

    intensive

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Thorough, to a great degree, with intensity.
  • She was moved to the intensive care unit of the hospital.
  • *
  • Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.
  • Demanding, requiring a great amount.
  • This job is difficult because it is so labour-intensive .
  • Highly concentrated.
  • I took a three-day intensive course in finance.
  • (obsolete) Stretched; allowing intension, or increase of degree; that can be intensified.
  • Characterized by persistence; intent; assiduous.
  • (grammar) Serving to give force or emphasis.
  • an intensive verb or preposition

    See also

    * extensive

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (linguistics) Form of a word with a stronger or more forceful sense than the root on which the intensive is built.
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