weakness; difficult: Competition for the job is very severe.  $ \dagger $ The underwater trials will provide the severest test yet of the engine's capabilities.  $ \ddagger $ 4 expressing a strongly unfavourable judgment: severe criticism  $ \S $ 5 completely plain and without decoration; AUSTERE: the severe beauty of a simple church building — $ \blacktriangledown $y adv: severely disabled — $ \blacktriangledown $verity /sɪˈverʒi/ n [C;U] At first we didn't realize the severity of her wounds.  $ \dagger $  $ \dagger $ Of course you can't leave the room,  $ \dagger $ he said with some severity.
Severn, the /'sevənl-vərn/ a river in South Wales and southwest England which flows from the Welsh mountains to the Bristol Channel
Severn 'Bridge, the a SUSPENSION BRIDGE over the River Severn. The name is used by most people to refer to the Second Severn Crossing, the bridge that joins southwest England with South Wales, and is part of the M4 MOTORWAY. The original Severn Bridge is now called the M48 Severn Suspension Bridge. It also crosses the river from England into Wales, and is part of the M48 motorway.
Se·ville /səˈvɪl/ a city in southwest Spain, known for its many beautiful and historical buildings, especially the Alcazar (=castle) built by the MOORs who ruled Seville between 712 and 1248
Se,ville 'orange n a bitter variety of orange which is used for making MARMALADE
sew /səʊ/ v sewed, sewn /səʊn/ also sewed AmE [ˈɪːT+obj+adv/prep] to join or fasten (especially cloth) by stitches made with thread; make or mend (especially pieces of clothing) with needle and thread: They learnt to sew at school. | Would you sew on this button/sew this button onto my shirt?
sew sthg. ⇔ up phr v [T] 1 to close or repair by sewing: Will you sew up this hole in my trousers? 2 infml to settle satisfactorily: We should have the whole deal sewn up by the end of the week. 3 infml to put into one's control; make sure of winning or gaining: With such a big lead in the opinion polls, they've really got the election sewn up.
sew·age /'sjuːdʒ, 'suː-l'suː-/ n [U] the waste material and water carried in sewers: The city needs a new sewage disposal system. | a sewage farm (=a place where sewage is treated ready to be got rid of)
Sew·ard, William Henry /'sjuːədll-erd/ (1801-72) a US politician in the REPUBLICAN PARTY who was SECRETARY OF STATE from 1861 to 1869. He helped to arrange the deal in which the US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. At the time, many people thought Alaska was a bad piece of land to buy, and they called it 'Seward's Folly'.
sew•er /'sjuːər, 'suːər |'suːər/ n an artificial passage or large pipe under the ground for carrying away water and waste material from the human body to a place where they can be got rid of
sew·er·age /'sjuːrɪdʒ, 'suː-l|'suː-/ n [U] the (system of) removing and dealing with waste matter and water through sewers: Our town has a modern sewerage system.
sew·ing /'səʊɪŋ/ n [U] work that has been or is to be sewn: She put her sewing away in the basket.
'sewing machine n a machine for stitching material, worked by hand and powered by electricity or by foot
sex¹ /seks/ n 1 [U] the condition of being either male or female: What sex is this fish? | In the space marked 'sex', put an 'M' for male or an 'F' for female. 2 [C] the set of all male or female people: the male sex | the opposite sex | There are members of both sexes in the team. | a single-sex club 3 [U] SEXUAL INTERCOURSE: Do you think sex outside marriage is always wrong? | The couple went for therapy because they hadn't had sex (with one another) for years. 4 [U] activity connected with (and including) this act: There's a lot of sex and violence in this film. | sex education in schools 5 -sexed /sekst/ having the stated amount of sexual desire: highly-sexed | over-sexed → see also FAIR SEX, GENTLE SEX
CULTURAL NOTE Sex is one of the subjects that many people in the UK and US do not really talk much about, even with their friends, because it is considered private. (Death and religion are the other subjects that people usually avoid talking about.) Despite this, many magazines, television programmes, and films talk about sex or show sexual situations a lot. Some people disapprove of this, and think that films etc show too much sex. In the UK and in most states of the US, people must be at least 16 before they can legally have sex. This is known as the 'age of consent'. However, people are not usually ARRESTED by the police for having sex unless one of the two people is younger than sixteen and the other is very much older. Many people worry that teenagers are having sex when they are really too young, so that young girls are having babies when they are still children themselves. In the US, there is an organization, called True Love Waits, which encourages young people to wait until they are married before they have sex for the first time. → see also Cultural Note at HOMOSEXUAL
$ sex^{2} $ v [T] especially tech to find out whether (especially an animal) is male or female: His job is sexing day-old chickens.
sex·a·ge·nar·i·an /,seksəd3ə'neəriən/ n a person who is between 60 and 69 years old
Sex·a·ges·i·ma /,seksə'dzesəmə/ in the Christian religion the second Sunday before LENT
Sex and the 'City a US TV programme which was broadcast for several years until it ended in 2004. It was especially popular with young women. The main characters are a group of four women friends who live in New York City. It was known especially for the fact that the women talked about their sexual relationships in a very open way.
'sex ap,peal n [U] the power of being sexually exciting to other people; attractiveness to someone of the opposite sex: She's got a lot of sex appeal.
'sex change n a medical treatment or operation which changes a person's body so that they look like a person of the opposite sex: John has had a sex change and has taken the name Janine.
Sex Discrimination Act, the a British law passed in 1975 to prevent SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION (=unfair treatment of someone because of their sex), especially in employment and education
'sex education n [U] education in the physical processes and emotions involved in sex between humans. In Britain and the US this is taught to children in school.
'sex, industry, the n [S] the businesses and activities related to PROSTITUTION and PORNOGRAPHY
sex·is·m /'seksizəm/ n [U] the belief that one sex is not as good, clever etc, as the other, especially when this results in unfair treatment of women by men → compare CLASSISM
sexist /'seksɪst/ adj. n derog (someone, especially a man) showing sexism: I'm tired of his sexist remarks about women drivers. | a sexist film
sex·less /'seksləs/ adj 1 derog sexually uninteresting; not
SEXY 2 not male or female; NEUTER
'sex life n the sexual activities of a person: He's been too busy with his work to have much of a sex life. \ I wonder how her sex life's going?'
'sex-linked adj connected with the sex GENES of only one sex, and so passed on to children only by parents of that sex: a sex-linked hereditary disease
'sex ,object n a person admired only because they are sexually attractive, and not for other qualities they may have
'sex of,fender n a person,who is guilty of a crime related to sex: rapists and other sex offenders | Attacks on sex offenders in prison are on the increase.
sex·ol·o·gy /sek'solədʒi|l-'saː-/ n [U] the study of sexual behaviour, especially among human beings —gist n
'sex,organ n a part of the body concerned with the producing of children, such as the PENIS, VAGINA, or WOMB
'Sex, Pistols, The a British PUNK band who were popular in the mid-1970s and greatly influenced the punk style of clothes and music. Their members included Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. They deliberately shocked people with their violent behaviour, swearing, and lack of respect for the British royal family. They are best known for their song Anarchy in the UK, and for their ALBUM Never Mind the Bollocks – Here's the Sex Pistols.
sex·ploi·ta·tion /,seksploi'tei[ən/ n [U] infml derog the use of sex or sexual activity to make money, especially in films, magazines etc: a sexploitation movie