| Library / English Dictionary |
SERIOUS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm
Example:
a life-threatening disease
Synonyms:
dangerous; grave; grievous; life-threatening; serious; severe
Classified under:
Similar:
critical (being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency)
Derivation:
seriousness (the quality of arousing fear or distress)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve
Example:
the plan has a serious flaw
Classified under:
Similar:
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of great consequence
Example:
marriage is a serious matter
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
important; of import (of great significance or value)
Derivation:
seriousness (the trait of being serious)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Appealing to the mind
Example:
a serious book
Synonyms:
good; serious
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intellectual (appealing to or using the intellect)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
Example:
Don't be so serious!
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
earnest; sincere; solemn (characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions)
grave; sedate; sober; solemn (dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises)
overserious (excessively serious)
real (not to be taken lightly)
serious-minded; thoughtful (acting with or showing thought and good sense)
sobering (tending to make sober or more serious)
solid (of a substantial character and not frivolous or superficial)
Attribute:
earnestness; serious-mindedness; seriousness; sincerity (the trait of being serious)
Antonym:
frivolous (not serious in content or attitude or behavior)
Derivation:
seriousness (the trait of being serious)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Completely lacking in playfulness
Synonyms:
serious; sober; unplayful
Classified under:
Adjectives
Attribute:
fun; playfulness (a disposition to find (or make) causes for amusement)
Derivation:
seriousness (the trait of being serious)
Context examples:
Severe pain doesn't always mean a serious problem.
(Abdominal Pain, NIH)
You swam up into my serious notice.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
If dating and serious, you may have a dream of an evening—you could become engaged.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
There was everything in the world against their being serious but his words and manner.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Forgetting how to use the telephone or find your way home may be signs of a more serious problem.
(Memory, NIH: National Institute on Aging)
Early treatment can help prevent serious problems, including death.
(Meningitis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but serious type of cancer.
(Mesothelioma, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
Serious she was, very serious in her thankfulness, and in her resolutions; and yet there was no preventing a laugh, sometimes in the very midst of them.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer.
(Melanoma, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems.
(Blood Sugar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
