How to pronounce severe

Say it like this: /sɪˈvɪɹ/. Listen to real recordings below and compare how it sounds in different accents.

American/sɪˈvɪɹ/

British/sɪˈvɪə/

What does severe mean?

adjVery bad or intense.

“In the severer cases of hookworm the patient sometimes has an appetite for soil, paper, hair, clay, chalk, starch, and other unpalatables.”

Strict or harsh.

“a severe taskmaster”

Sober, plain in appearance, austere.

“severe clothing”

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Pronunciations and meanings from Wiktionary via kaikki.org, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Recordings by Wikimedia Commons contributors. This page is shared under the same license.