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Severe vs Thorny - What's the difference?

severe | thorny |

As adjectives the difference between severe and thorny

is that severe is severe, harsh while thorny is having thorns or spines.

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)

    External links

    * * *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    thorny

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • having thorns or spines
  • troublesome or vexatious
  • * Shakespeare
    • the steep and thorny way to heaven
  • aloof and irritable
  • * Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives
    • 'Come, Jo, don't be thorny . After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it.'

    Derived terms

    * (l) * thorny restharrow * thorny trefoil

    Anagrams

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