hi,
Please note I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker,
As the words are synonyms I find very helpful to have a look at the collocation.
So as they are adjectives lets have some fun and list the nouns that goes often with each word :-D :
BNC link
"Severe" has a nice pattern if we look at the nouns which it describes.
WORD 1: SEVERE
1
WEATHER
2 [STRIKE]LEARNING[/STRIKE]
3
OESOPHAGITIS
4
DISABILITIES
5
REFLUX
6
PANCREATITIS
7
WINTERS
8 [STRIKE]ALLOWANCE[/STRIKE]
9
PAINS
10 RESTRICTIONS
11
DEMENTIA
12
HYPOGLYCAEMIA
13
ASTHMA
14
DIARRHOEA
15 SENTENCE
it's mainly a prison sentence
16
URGENCY
17
HANDICAPS
18
STORM
19
DISABLEMENT
20
ABNORMALITIES
21
LIVER
22 EPISODES
23
FROST
24
HYPERTENSION
25
INFLAMMATION
26
MALARIA
27
MALNUTRITION
28 REPRESSION
29 REPRIMAND
30
WINTER
31 POVERTY
32
ARTHRITIS
33
COLD
34
COLITIS
35
GALES
36
HEADACHES
37
HEPATITIS
38
TRAUMA
39
HEADACHE
40
PAIN
41
DYSPLASIA
42
ENTERITIS
43
GALE
44 LIMITS
45
RETARDATION
46 SENTENCES
47
STENOSIS
48 TURBULENCE
49 STRAIN
50
DROUGHT
51 PUNISHMENT
52
CONSTIPATION
53
STORMS
54 STYLE
I don't really get that
55
ANAEMIA
56
CLIMATE
57
FROSTS
58 KNOCK
59
LESIONS
60 PRUNING
61
DISABILITY
62 HARDSHIP
63 PRESSURES
64 BEATINGS
65
EARTHQUAKE
66 ECONOMIES
67 FLUCTUATIONS
68
IMMUNODEFICIENCY
69
IMPAIRMENTS
70 JOLT ???
71
MIGRAINE
72
PNEUMONIA
73
PORTAL hypertension
74 [STRIKE]PREMIUM[/STRIKE]
75 PROVOCATION
76
RAIN
77
SPASTICITY
78 RECESSION
79 SANCTIONS
80
WEIGHT loss
81
STRESS
82
DEPRESSION
83 [STRIKE]STOMACH[/STRIKE]
84
BURN
85 RESTRICTION
86 [STRIKE]ANGLE[/STRIKE] ???
87
ANGINA
88
ALTERATION
89
ARTERIOPATHY
90
ANOREXIA
91
BRUISES
92 [STRIKE]BUDGET[/STRIKE]
93 CLIMATES it's not about the weather
94 [STRIKE]CONTEST[/STRIKE] ??
95 CUTBACKS
96
DEAFNESS
97
DISCHARGES
98
DROP
99
DYSPNOEA
100 ENEMIES
red - health related nouns
Blue - weather related
[STRIKE]strike[/STRIKE] - N/A mainly used as adj
no colour - I just didn't know how to classify them.
Cheers.