sever

/ˈsɛv.ɚ/

//ˈsɛv.ɚ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sever" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sever” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,989. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,989
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cut free.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sever · sever · English

sever · rank #23,989 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,989
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH settler

Nearest frequency peer: settler (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sever”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sever” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sever vs Sven
40% similar
sever vs super
60% similar
sever vs Steve
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sever
PropertyValue
Headwordsever
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈsɛv.ɚ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#23,989
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sever”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).severlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “settler” (#23,988), “sharpen” (#23,990), “Selma” (#23,987). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sever” is #23,989. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around sever (IPA /ˈsɛv.ɚ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,989 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for sever, with forms such as "esver", "seevr", and "severr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Sven", "super", "Steve", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English severen, from Old French sevrer, from Latin separāre (“to separate”), from se- (“apart”) + parāre (“provide, arrange”). Doublet of separate, from the past participle of that Latin verb. The correct English form is sever, spelled S-E-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cut free.
  2. 2
    To suffer disjunction; to be parted or separated.
  3. 3
    To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish.
  4. 4
    To disconnect; to disunite; to terminate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sever appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. After he graduated, he severed all links to his family.
  2. to sever the head from the body

Etymology

From Middle English severen, from Old French sevrer, from Latin separāre (“to separate”), from se- (“apart”) + parāre (“provide, arrange”). Doublet of separate, from the past participle of that Latin verb.

Synonyms

becutcut off

This word in other languages

cortar(Español)rompre(Français)abtrennen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esver
  • seevr
  • severr
  • sevver
  • ssever
  • sveer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sever - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

esver2seevr2severr1sevver1ssever1sveer2
Edit distance from "sever"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sever"?
"sever" is spelled S-E-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛv.ɚ/.
What does "sever" mean?
As a verb, "sever" means: To cut free.
What words are commonly confused with "sever"?
"sever" is commonly confused with "Sven", "super", "Steve". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sever"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sever" is /ˈsɛv.ɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sever"?
From Middle English severen, from Old French sevrer, from Latin separāre (“to separate”), from se- (“apart”) + parāre (“provide, arrange”). Doublet of separate, from the past participle of that Latin verb. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sever", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Selma#23,987Ruben#23,979snuff#24,003stoic#24,008

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

skit6 variantsprog6 variantspixie6 variantsturd6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list