divide vs sever

divide

verb
  • To share (something) by dividing it. 

  • To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes. 

  • To separate into two or more parts. 

  • To mark divisions on; to graduate. 

  • To calculate the number (the quotient) by which you must multiply one given number (the divisor) to produce a second given number (the dividend). 

  • To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations. 

  • To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance. 

  • To be a divisor of. 

  • To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. 

  • Of a cell, to reproduce by dividing. 

noun
  • An act of dividing. 

  • A distancing between two people or things. 

  • A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land. 

  • The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest. 

  • A thing that divides. 

sever

verb
  • To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish. 

  • To disconnect; to disunite; to terminate. 

  • To cut free. 

  • To suffer disjunction; to be parted or separated. 

How often have the words divide and sever occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )