VocabauraVOCABAURA

sever

verb

Simple meaning

Cut off from a whole.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sehver

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsɛvɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Cut off from a whole

    “His head was severed from his body.”

  2. transitive

    To cut free.

  3. intransitive

    To suffer disjunction; to be parted or separated.

  4. law

    To disconnect; to disunite; to terminate.

  5. intransitive

    To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Cut off from a whole

Used this way, sever is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“His head was severed from his body.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “sever”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

sever relationscompletely sever

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • severitynounDerived noun

    Used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather.

  • severancenounDerived noun

    A personal or social separation (as between opposing factions).

  • severelyadverbDerived adverb

    To a severe or serious degree.

  • severallyadverbDerived adverb

    Apart from others.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “sever” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.