Taxonomy of meanings for 嚴:　　

  • 嚴 yán (OC: ŋɡam MC: ŋiɐm) 語𩏩切 平 廣韻：【嚴毅也威也敬也説文曰嚴令急也亦姓本姓莊避漢明帝諱改姓嚴語𩏩切二 】
    • SEVERE
      • viactbe unpardoning, harsh and stern; maintain strict discipline
      • vadNsevere (father; punishments); stern
      • vtoNcausative(cause to be stern>) make stern (one's appearance, laws etc)
      • nabactseverity, sternness; capability to ensure strict discipline
      • vtoNpay strict attention to; be sternly concerned with
      • vadVsternly
      • vtoNputative(consider as severe>) be scared of (somebody); show respect (towards somebody)
      • vistative featurebe severe
      • vi-V{SUFF}look very severe
      • vtoNreflexive.自treat oneself severely/harshly
      • related attitude>FEAR
        • moral>AUTHORITY
          • feature, political>POWER
            • nabsocialsevere authority and power
            • vadNpowerful; mighty
            • vadVin imposing style
          • feature, psychological>SERIOUS
            • viactbe serious
            • vadVwith serious diligence
            • nabactserious diligence, respectful concernLZ
            • VPadNof seriousness and spiritual purity of concern
            • in service and intent>DILIGENT
                • object>URGENT
                    • generalised>INTENSELY
                      • vadNintense and painful
                      • specific: (intensely)>COLD
                      • attitudinal, treat as urgent>PROVIDE
                        • vtoNmake good arrangements for
                    • specific> act on with diligence>EMBELLISH
                • =譀
              • 嚴 yan2 《集韻》魚銜切，平銜疑。
                • =巖
              • 嚴 ｙａｎ３《經典釋文》魚檢反。談部。
                • =儼
              • 嚴ｙａｎ4 【集韻】魚窆切，音驗。酷也。
                • =儼

                Additional information about 嚴

                說文解字:

                  Criteria
                • SEVERE

                  1. The current general commendatory term for severeness is yán 嚴 (ant. kuān 寬 "lax").

                  2. Zhuāng 莊 (ant. qīng 輕 "unserious") and the somewhat less common jīn 矜 add to the notion of a mild form of severeness the nuance of dignified appearance.

                  3. Sù 肅 (ant. zī 恣 "easy-going") emphasises sternness of attitude.

                  4. Lì 厲 (wēn 溫 "mild") emphasises a willingness to use violence in the administration of government without passing a strong negative or positive judgment on this attitude.

                  5. Kè 刻 (ant. hé 和 "moderate") refers disparagingly to an excessive willingness to use violence in the administration of government.

                  6. Zhòng 重 (ant. qīng 輕 "unserious") refers abstractly to the severeness of punishments.

                  7. Jù4n 峻 (ant. píng 平 "even-handed") refers dramatically to the savageness of punishments.

                  8. Kē 苛 and kù 酷 (ant.* rén 仁 "kind-hearted" and bù rěn 不忍 "be unable to stand") refer to flagrant extravagance in the severeness of punishments.

                • NEGLECT

                  1. The general word for neglecting something, either by deliberately ignoring it or by a failure to take due care, is hū 忽 (ant. jǐn 謹 "pay careful attention to").

                  2. LŸè 略 is a deliberate act of neglecting something one has a duty to pay attention to.

                  3. Màn 慢 (ant. jìng 敬 "pay proper and respectful attention to") and jiǎn 簡 (ant. xì 細 "pay detailed attention to") refer to a typically deliberate and defiant, often a deliberately outrageous, failure to pay proper attention to what is expected to be heeded.

                  4. Shū 疏 (ant. yán 嚴 "pay strict attention to") refers to inadvertent nonchalant neglectfulness.

                  NB: Yí 遺 "leave out" and shì 釋 "leave aside for the time being" refer to a deliberate but possibly defensible failure to take note of something, and these words are thus naturally treated in this meaning under the heading DISREGARD.

                • POWER

                  1. The dominant general words for power are wēi 威 "formidable authority" and shì 勢 "strategic position of power".

                  2. Quán 權 refers to one's political leverage or one's formal position of power.

                  3. Wèi 位 refers to the formal and official (usually very high) position one has in a hierarchy, but the word is occasionally also used as a general term referring to any station in life. See RANK.

                  4. Zhòng 重 refers to the actual political influence a person may have.

                  5. Shù 數 refers to a complex constellation of power as an object of assessment.

                  6. Shén 神 is occasionally used to refer to a supernatural or divinely sanctioned authority or political efficacy of a person.

                  7. Yán 嚴 refers to the formidable quality of power growing from real authority.

                  Word relations
                • Epithet: (SEVERE)刑/PUNISH Xíng 刑 refers specifically to physical punishment.
                • Epithet: (SEVERE)誅/PUNISH
                • Epithet: (SEVERE)法/LAW The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.
                • Contrast: (SEVERE)重/SEVERE Zhòng 重 (ant. qīng 輕 "unserious") refers abstractly to the severeness of punishments.
                • Assoc: (SEVERE)峻/SEVERE Jù4n 峻 (ant. píng 平 "even-handed") refers dramatically to the savageness of punishments.
                • Assoc: (SEVERE)肅/SEVERE Sù 肅 (ant. zī 恣 "easy-going") emphasises sternness of attitude.
                • Assoc: (SEVERE)威/POWER The dominant general words for power are wēi 威 "formidable authority" and shì 勢 "strategic position of power".
                • Synon: (SEVERE)峻/SEVERE Jù4n 峻 (ant. píng 平 "even-handed") refers dramatically to the savageness of punishments.