The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - severelyadv.

1) acutely, seriously, badly, dangerously, dreadfully; permanently, fully, entirely: The accident left him severely handicapped. 2) strictly, harshly, rigorously, austerely, oppressively, relentlessly, mercilessly, cruelly, brutally, savagely, inhumanly, tyrannically: The boys were severely maltreated at the school. 3) sternly, forbiddingly, dourly, gloweringly, gravely, seriously, grimly, unsmilingly, soberly, coldly, coolly, austerely: Mrs Gladwin regarded me severely over the top of her pince-nez. 4) stringently, punitively, harshly, onerously, grievously, painfully: One is punished severely for the slightest infraction of the law. 5) dangerously, acutely, critically, dreadfully, awfully; mortally, fatally, terminally: I am afraid to say that your mother is severely ill. 6) starkly, plainly, barely, modestly, austerely, ascetically, monastically, primitively, simply, crudely, sparsely, sparely: The room is furnished a bit severely for my taste.