I. ˈsirēəs, ˈsēr- adjective
Etymology: Middle English seryows, from Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French serieux, from Late Latin seriosus, alteration (influenced by Latin -osus -ous) of Latin serius; probably akin to Old English swǣr heavy, sad, Old High German swār, swāri, Old Norse svārr, Gothic swers respected, Lithuanian svarus heavy
1. : grave in disposition, appearance, or manner : not light, not gay, nor volatile
we were serious to the point of solemnity — James Joyce
her habitual expression was sedate and serious — Eric Linklater
such a stern and serious face — Charles Kingsley
will say facetious things in a most serious way — Harvey Breit
2.
a. : demanding earnest application : requiring considerable care
work which has prevented me from any serious correspondence — H.J.Laski
settled down to the serious study of music — J.T.Howard
b. : addressed to grave moods — used especially of literature, drama, and music
serious books
a serious play
c. : demanding or intended to be accepted as sincerely and earnestly motivated
not a good work of art, but it is a serious work of art — Arnold Bennett
serious novelists
serious candidates
3.
a. : being in earnest : not jesting, trifling, or deceiving
this observation was not serious . It was merely a trifle of affectionate malicious embroidery — Arnold Bennett
no serious antiquarian researches have been carried out — Norman Douglas
serious conversation
a serious question
b. archaic : earnest about religious matters
c. : deeply interested : devoted
if there are serious fishermen in your party — Jackson Rivers
a serious checker player
serious drinkers
4.
a. : important , significant , emphatic
morning was sacred to serious tasks like sewing — Virginia Woolf
a drama — on which a serious amount of care has been spent by many — A.T.Quiller-Couch
take all the meals that would require any serious cooking in the nearest restaurant — G.B.Shaw
took serious exception to the theory — Irving Babbitt
the book is a serious disappointment — Geographical Journal
b.
(1) : not easily answered or solved : weighty , difficult
leaders began to raise serious objections — C.E.Black & E.C.Helmreich
a serious problem
(2) : such as to call forth strong measures for combatting or rectifying
most of these systems are in a serious financial position — Economist
so serious a lack of knowledge — C.D.Forde
commodities which are not in serious competition with our dynamic home industry — R.S.Thoman
c. : such as to cause considerable distress, anxiety, or inconvenience : attended with danger
a serious injury
a serious accident
serious warfare broke out — R.A.Billington
Synonyms:
grave , solemn , somber , sedate , staid , sober , earnest : serious suggests absorption in, concern about, or inclination to purposive or important work, deep thought, or earnest care rather than frivolity or levity
a serious book is one which holds before us some image of society to consider and condemn — Lionel Trilling
a serious student intent on learning
grave may imply both seriousness and dignity, often accompanied by suggestions of weighty interest and responsibilities
the slow, grave, simple, convinced tones with which she uttered the things that seemed to her the most worth while in life were more impressive than any arts of the orator — Havelock Ellis
his gravest tone, the one he reserved for his rare appearances in the federal appellate courts — Louis Auchincloss
solemn may indicate deep, serious impressiveness or awesomeness with utter lack of levity
holding the attorney's letter in his hand, and with so solemn and important an air that his wife, always ingeniously on the watch for calamity, thought the worst was about to befall — W.M.Thackeray
Sabbath was made a solemn day, meet only for preaching, praying, and Bible reading — C.A. & Mary Beard
somber applies to a melancholy or depressing gravity completely lacking in color, light, or cheer
the Scots, famed for somber Calvinism and its intellectual theologizing, did not expect to warm to the enthusiastic kind of religion — P.D.Whitney
slowly she swept into the somber rhythms … beginning so softly that the music was scarcely audible, climbing steadily toward a climax — Louis Bromfield
sedate implies accustomed, decorous seriousness and studied absence of insouciance or lightness
a professional army man is as sedate as a lawyer — Green Peyton
her habitual expression was sedate and serious, a permanent reproof, as it were, to those who were first attracted by the voluptuous quality of her admirable figure — Eric Linklater
staid indicates a settled, accustomed sedateness and self-restraint
most of the other cults had their public festivals, when the staid Roman citizen was repelled by the wild dances and the frenzied paeans — John Buchan
the older city of staid residences, spotless streets, and a homogeneous population, all overhung with a quickly felt aura of contentment and satisfaction — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
sober may apply to grave controlling or subduing of emotion or to serious concentrating on purpose
this work is certainly of more sober mien than most of its author's others. It is very long and very serious, and both these qualities are certainly deliberate observances — Virgil Thomson
I never saw a soberer holiday crowd … it was almost sabbatarian in its decorousness — Robert Lynd
earnest suggests steady sincerity and intentness of purpose
an earnest student
many of the padres were scholars, and all were earnest in their endeavor to convert and civilize the natives — American Guide Series: Florida
II. adjective
: excessive or impressive in quantity, extent, or degree : considerable
making serious money
serious drinking