severance
/ˈsɛv.ɚ.əns/noun
severance is spelled S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, severance means “The act of severing or the state of being severed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of severance is severances.
How many letters and syllables are in severance?
| Letters | 9: S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is severance?
Severance appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce severance?
- UK /ˈsɛv.ɹəns/
- UK /ˈsɛv.ɜː(ɹ)n̩s/
- US /ˈsɛv.ɚ.əns/
Severance has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-severance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of severance
- severances plural
- severaunce
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does severance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of severing or the state of being severed.
- 2
A separation.
- 3
A severance payment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Severance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of severing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Scheidung, Trennung |
| Spanish | truncamiento, cercenadura, cercenamiento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does severance come from?
From sever + -ance, from Middle English severaunce, from Anglo-Norman, Old French sevrance, from sevrer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).