severe vs stinging

severe

adj
  • Very bad or intense. 

  • Sober, plain in appearance, austere. 

  • Strict or harsh. 

stinging

adj
  • Precise and hurtful. 

  • Having the capacity to sting. 

noun
  • The act by which someone receives a sting. 

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