Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to indicate that you are not joking and that you really mean what you say.
Seriously, I only smoke in the evenings.
ADV: ADV with cl
2.
You say ‘~’ when you are surprised by what someone has said, as a way of asking them if they really mean it. (SPOKEN)
‘I tried to chat him up at the general store.’ He laughed. ‘Seriously?’
CONVENTION feelings
3.
see also serious
4.
If you take someone or something ~, you believe that they are important and deserve attention.
It’s hard to take them ~ in their pretty grey uniforms...
PHRASE: V inflects