All 7 Uses

sever
in
Washington Black
(Auto-generated)

The overseer stood and raised the severed head in both hands.†
p. 11.7
The older slave had suffered some horrific brutality upon her person; the bulb of her right shoulder had been crudely severed off, so that she seemed always to be shrugging.†
p. 85.6 *
When I pictured myself being cut down by the master's hands, severed brutally from the world, a taste like unripe apples filled my throat, and I saw the blackness Titch spoke of, the finality of it.†
p. 115.1
Finally Titch leaned over and severed each rope in its turn.†
p. 118.9
"It appears," said Titch softly, "to be a severed arm."†
p. 156.9
I know only that in that moment I was terrified to my very core, and that the idea of embarking on a perilous journey without Titch filled me with a panic so savage it felt as if I were being asked to perform some brutal act upon myself, to sever my own throat.†
p. 167.8
Is it natural to sever low beings from their true and rightful destinies?†
p. 267.1

Definitions:

(1) (sever)
to end or cut off completely -- either physically or in relationships
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)