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A stroke with a rod or switch; a severe spasm; a twinge; a pang. Conscience . . . is freed from many fearful girds and twinges which the atheist feels. Tillotson.

To prick; to drive with a goad; hence, to urge forward, or to rouse by anything pungent, severe, irritating, or inflaming; to stimulate. That temptation that doth goad us on. Shak.

Harah; hard; severe; stern; rough. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

To oppress by severe exactions; to harass. To grind the subject or defraud the prince. Dryden.

together, to close and adhere; to become united by growth, as flesh or the bark of a tree severed. Howells.

Of a rough or stern manner, voice, or countenance; sour; surly; severe; harsh. Addison. Gruff, disagreeable, sarcastic remarks. Thackeray. -- Gruff"ly, adv. -- Gruff"ness, n.

Morose; severe of countenance; sour; surly; glum; grim. "Nick looked sour and grum." Arbuthnof.

with success. Formed by thy converse, happily to steer From grave to gay, from lively to severe. Pope.

Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms. I never could drive a hard bargain. Burke.

Wrought with severe labor; elaborate; studied. Swift.

Severely; harshly; roughly. He has in many things been hardly used. Swift.

npleasant and repulsive to the sensibilities; austere; crabbed; morose; abusive; abusive; severe; rough. Clarence is so harsh, so blunt. Shak. Though harsh the precept, yet the charmed. Dryden.

a hero; epic poetry. -- Heroic treatment or remedies (Med.), treatment or remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate case. -- Heroic verse (Pros.), the verse of heroic or epic poetry, being in English, German, and Italian the iambic of ten syllables; in French the iambic of twelve syllables; and in classi…

crabro) is of a dark brown and yellow color. It is very pugnacious, and its sting is very severe. Its nest is constructed of a paperlike material, and the layers of comb are hung together by columns. The American white- faced hornet (V. maculata) is larger and has similar habits. Hornet fly (Zoöl.), any dipterous insec…

Disease; indisposition; malady; disorder of health; sickness; as, a short or a severe illness.

harshness (commonly in respect to the elements or weather); roughness; storminess; rigor; severe cold, wind, rain, or snow. The inclemencies of morning air. Pope. The rude inclemency of wintry skies. Cowper.

Not clement; destitute of a mild and kind temper; void of tenderness; unmerciful; severe; harsh.

isincline; to render averse or unfavorable; as, a love of pleasure indisposes the mind to severe study; the pride and selfishness of men indispose them to religious duties. The king was sufficiently indisposed towards the persons, or the principles, of Calvin's disciples. Clarendon.

under one's care; compliant; not opposing or restraining; tolerant; mild; favorable; not severe; as, an indulgent parent. Shak. The indulgent censure of posterity. Waller. The feeble old, indulgent of their ease. Dryden.

bear, feel, or suffer; as, to inflict blows; to inflict a wound with a dagger; to inflict severe pain by ingratitude; to inflict punishment on an offender; to inflict the penalty of death on a criminal. What heart could wish, what hand inflict, this dire disgrace Drygen. The persecution and the pain That man inflicts o…