different between severe vs oppressive

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

oppress +? -ive

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?s?v

IPA^(key): /??p??s.?v/

Adjective

oppressive (comparative more oppressive, superlative most oppressive)

1. Burdensome or difficult to bear.

   The oppressive tax laws made it difficult to start a small company.

2. Tyrannical or exercising unjust power.

   The oppressive land-owners kept a grip on the labourers.

3. Weighing heavily on the spirit; intense, or overwhelming

   Will the oppressive heat of summer never end?

4. Hot and humid of the weather.

Synonyms

• (weather): humid, close

Translations

French

Adjective

oppressive

1. feminine singular of oppressif

Italian

Adjective

oppressive

1. feminine plural of oppressivo