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severities |
1 definition found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Severity \Se*ver"i*ty\, n.; pl {Severities}. [L. severitas: cf F. s['e]v['e]rit['e].] The quality or state of being severe. Specifically: a Gravity or austerity; extreme strictness; rigor; harshness; as the severity of a reprimand or a reproof; severity of discipline or government; severity of penalties. ``Strict age, and sour severity.'' --Milton. b The quality or power of distressing or paining; extreme degree; extremity; intensity; inclemency; as the severity of pain or anguish; the severity of cold or heat; the severity of the winter. c Harshness; cruel treatment; sharpness of punishment; as severity practiced on prisoners of war. d Exactness; rigorousness; strictness; as the severity of a test. Confining myself to the severity of truth. --Dryden.