sever
SEH-vur
/ˈsɛv.ər/
To cut off a connection, relationship, or physical object suddenly and completely.
Implies a clean, sharp, and usually permanent break. It can be physical (cutting a rope) or metaphorical (ending diplomatic ties).
The story behind the word. Sever comes from the Latin 'separare', which is also the ancestor of our word 'separate'. It entered English through Anglo-Norman French, where the pronunciation shifted, sharpening the soft 'separate' into the decisive, slicing sound of 'sever'.
Word relationships
- terminate: Terminate is a formal, administrative word for ending something, whereas sever carries a more dramatic, physical sense of cutting.
- disconnect: Disconnect is more clinical and reversible, while sever implies a permanent, often painful rupture.
- join: Join means to connect or fasten things together, the opposite of cutting them apart.
- link: Link implies creating a connection or bond between two entities.
Commonly confused with
- severe: Severe (with an 'e' at the end) is an adjective meaning intense or harsh, while sever (without the 'e') is a verb meaning to cut.
Word family
- severance (noun): The action of ending a connection or relationship; also, pay given to an employee upon leaving a company.
- unsevered (adjective): Not cut or divided.
Collocations
- sever ties
- sever diplomatic relations
- sever a connection
- sever a limb
Idioms & expressions
- sever the umbilical cord
Example sentences
- "The country decided to sever all diplomatic relations with its neighbor following the border dispute." A news report on international diplomacy.
- "She chose to sever her ties with the firm to start her own competing agency." A dramatic moment in a corporate boardroom.
Memory hook
Think of a sharp 'cleaver' slicing through a rope. The sound of 'sever' matches the swift, clean cut of a blade. Sever is like a clever cleaver.
When not to use
Do not use for gradual processes of growing apart; sever is always sudden and decisive.
Fun facts
- In employment law, 'severance pay' is the money an employer gives to an employee whose contract is severed, serving as a financial cushion for the sudden cut.
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