Qualities
Synonyms for severe
Synonyms for severe: terrible and spartan. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.
The 2 synonyms for severe
- terribleadjective, in the sense "intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality"
- spartanadjective, in the sense "unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment"
Two senses of severe, two audited synonyms, one for each. The bank does not stack alternatives under a sense it has not separated.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
A severe case of flu.
The true synonym
terrible
Same sentence, swapped: A terrible case of flu.
Close but different
These three are the other tiles the game puts on screen for this sense, and the note above says why the closest of them fails. None is a synonym for severe in the sentence quoted.
- stark
- knockout
- complex
unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment
The school enforced severe discipline on every student.
The true synonym
spartan
Same sentence, swapped: The school enforced spartan discipline on every student.
Close but different
These three are the other tiles for this sense. Each is a real word, and none of them can stand where severe stands in the sentence above.
- wicked
- complex
- single
Where severe turns up in the game
severe is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across two difficulty tiers. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in five other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.
4 of the 5 puzzles where severe is the trap
- wickedadjective, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is arch, in the sense "naughtily or annoyingly playful", so severe is there to be ruled out.
- aggressiveadjective, Tier 3, Ridgeline. The answer there is belligerent, in the sense "characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight", and severe is on the board beside it.
- commonplaceadjective, Tier 3, Ridgeline. The answer there is tired, in the sense "repeated too often", and severe is on the board beside it.
- leanadjective, Tier 4, High Camp. The answer there is skimpy, in the sense "containing little excess", and severe is on the board beside it.
Play severe
The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so severe reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.
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The ring widens as it goes, from qualities at Treeline outward to the whole bank.
Why the near miss missed, in the game as well as here
Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. severe carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.