<p><strong>Adjective:</strong></p><ul><li>se·ver·er</li><li>se·ver·est</li><li>harsh; unnecessarily extreme: severe criticism; severe laws.</li><li>serious or stern in manner or appearance: a severe face.</li><li>threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; grave: a severe illness.</li><li>rigidly restrained in style, taste, manner, etc.; simple, plain, or austere.</li><li>causing discomfort or distress by extreme character or conditions, as weather, cold, or heat; unpleasantly violent, as rain or wind, or a blow or shock.</li><li>difficult to endure, perform, fulfill, etc.: a severe test of his powers.</li><li>rigidly exact, accurate, or methodical: severe standards.</li></ul><p><strong>Synonyms:</strong></p><ul><li>grim</li><li>forbidding</li><li>dour</li><li>austere</li><li>punitive</li><li>draconian</li><li>rigorous</li><li>rigid</li><li>heavy-handed</li><li>strict</li><li>stark</li><li>serious</li><li>spartan</li><li>exacting</li><li>demanding</li></ul><p><strong>Antonyms:</strong></p><ul><li>tolerant</li><li>lax</li><li>lenient</li><li>temperate</li><li>mild</li><li>benign</li><li>gentle</li><li>facile</li><li>effortless</li><li>easy</li></ul>