The kanji 烈 generally conveys the idea of "intense," "violent," "fierce," or "ardent." It often describes something that is extreme in its degree or force, whether it's related to heat, passion, or action. It can also imply a strong, burning quality.

・On-yomi (音読み): *retsu* (レツ) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): none typically used independently, but found in compound words.

⚫︎激烈（げきれつ） Translation: intense; violent; fierce ⚫︎烈火（れっか） Translation: raging fire; blazing fire ⚫︎壮烈（そうれつ） Translation: splendid; heroic; magnificent; glorious

The kanji 烈 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It combines two components: ⚫︎ 歹 (gai/retsu) on the left, which depicts the remains of a dead body or symbolizes "bad" or "evil." In this context, it contributes to the meaning of severity or harm. ⚫︎ 列 (retsu/retsu) on the right, which means "row" or "line," but here it acts as a phonetic component, giving the character its sound. The initial idea seems to be something like "intense death," in the sense of extreme or violent death, which expanded to its current meanings of intensity or violence.