different between severe vs abusive

English

Etymology

From Middle French, from Latin severus (“severe, serious, grave in demeanor”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /s??v??/ (US) IPA^(key): /s??v?r/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Adjective

severe (comparative severer or more severe, superlative severest or most severe)

1. Very bad or intense.
2. Strict or harsh.

   a severe taskmaster

3. Sober, plain in appearance, austere.

   a severe old maiden aunt

Synonyms

Antonyms

• (very bad or intense): mild
• (very bad or intense): minor
• (strict or harsh): lenient

Derived terms

• severely (adverb)
• severity (noun)
• severeness (noun)

Translations

Further reading

• severe in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• severe in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• severe at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Reeves, everse, reeves, servee

Esperanto

Adverb

severe

1. severely

Related terms

• severa

Italian

Adjective

severe

1. feminine plural of severo

Latin

Verb

s?v?re

1. third-person plural perfect active indicative of ser?

Adjective

sev?re

1. vocative masculine singular of sev?rus

References

• severe in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• severe in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• severe in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

severe (Cyrillic spelling ??????)

1. vocative singular of sever

English

Etymology

First attested in the 1530s. From French abusif, from Latin ab?s?vus, from abusus + -ivus (“-ive”). Equivalent to abuse +? -ive.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bju?.s?v/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??bju.s?v/, /??bju.z?v/

Adjective

abusive (comparative more abusive, superlative most abusive)

1. Prone to treat someone badly by coarse, insulting words or other maltreatment; vituperative; reproachful; scurrilous. [First attested in the early 17th century.]

2. (obsolete) Tending to deceive; fraudulent. [Attested only from the early to mid 17th century.]
   • 1623, Francis Bacon, A Discourse of a War with Spain

     an abusive treaty

3. (archaic) Tending to misuse; practising or containing abuse. [First attested in the late 16th century.]
4. Being physically or emotionally injurious; characterized by repeated violence or other abuse.
5. Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied; unjust; illegal. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]
6. (archaic) Catachrestic. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]

Synonyms

• (prone to treating badly): reproachful, scurrilous, opprobrious, insolent, insulting, injurious, offensive, reviling, berating, vituperative

Derived terms

• abusively
• abusiveness

Translations

References

French

Adjective

abusive

1. feminine singular of abusif

Italian

Adjective

abusive

1. feminine plural of abusivo

Latin

Adjective

ab?s?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of ab?s?vus

References

• abusive in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press