[syn: hard, severely]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Severe \Se*vere"\, a. [Compar. Severer; superl. Severest.]
   [L. severus; perhaps akin to Gr. ??? awe, ??? revered, holy,
   solemn, Goth. swikns innocent, chaste: cf. F. s['e]v[`e]re.
   Cf. Asseverate, Persevere.]
   1. Serious in feeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not
      light, lively, or cheerful.
      [1913 Webster]
            Your looks alter, as your subject does,
            From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe.
                                                  --Waller.
      [1913 Webster]
   2. Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh;
      not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism;
      severe punishment. "Custody severe." --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]
            Come! you are too severe a moraler.   --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]
            Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be
            always more severe against thyself than against
            others.                               --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]
   3. Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle;
      exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing
      unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; --
      said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and
      severe principles." --Jer. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]
            The Latin, a most severe and compendious language.
                                                  --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]
   4. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as,
      severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold.
      [1913 Webster]
   5. Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a
      severe test.
      [1913 Webster]
   Syn: Strict; grave; austere; stern; morose; rigid; exact;
        rigorous; hard; rough; harsh; censorious; tart;
        acrimonious; sarcastic; satirical; cutting; biting;
        keen; bitter; cruel. See Strict.
        [1913 Webster] -- Se*vere"ly, adv. -- Se*vere"ness,
        n.
        [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
severely
    adv 1: to a severe or serious degree; "fingers so badly frozen
           they had to be amputated"; "badly injured"; "a severely
           impaired heart"; "is gravely ill"; "was seriously ill"
           [syn: badly, severely, gravely, seriously]
    2: with sternness; in a severe manner; "`No,' she said sternly";
       "peered severely over her glasses" [syn: sternly,
       severely]
    3: causing great damage or hardship; "industries hit hard by the
       depression"; "she was severely affected by the bank's
       failure" [syn: hard, severely]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
48 Moby Thesaurus words for "severely":
   acutely, ascetically, austerely, awfully, badly, barely, brutally,
   coldly, coolly, critically, crudely, cruelly, dangerously, dourly,
   dreadfully, entirely, fatally, forbiddingly, fully, gloweringly,
   gravely, grievously, grimly, harshly, inhumanly, mercilessly,
   modestly, mortally, onerously, painfully, permanently, plainly,
   primitively, punitively, relentlessly, rigorously, savagely,
   seriously, simply, soberly, sparely, sparsely, starkly, sternly,
   strictly, stringently, terminally, tyrannically