Serious — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective /ˈsir-ē-əs/ se·ri·ous

Meaning & Definition of Serious

Serious (adjective)

  1. thoughtful or subdued in appearance or manner, sober
  2. requiring much thought or work
  3. of or relating to a matter of importance

Serious (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. not joking or playful in mood or manner

    "I'm serious when I say that no one should be walking in that neighborhood at night"

    similar: earnest, grave, humorless, no-nonsense, po-faced (British), sedate, severe, sober, sobersided, solemn, staid, uncomic, unsmiling, weighty
    related: harsh, stern, strict, businesslike, professional, dignified, distinguished, elevated, serious-minded, gloomy, grim
    opposite: facetious, flip, flippant, humorous, jesting, jocular, joking, kittenish, ludic, playful
    near: antic, comic, comical, droll, farcical, funny, hilarious, hysterical, laughable, light, light-headed, ludicrous, ridiculous, riotous, risible, screaming, sidesplitting, uproarious, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, goofy, harebrained, lighthearted, puerile, scatterbrained, absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, cockeyed, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dotty, fatuous, foolish, half-witted, insane, jerky, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, senseless, silly, unwise, wacky, weak-minded, witless, zany

  2. having a matter of importance as its topic

    "a very serious film that dealt with the aftermath of the Gulf War"

    similar: grave, heavy, weighty
    related: big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, portentous, significant, solid, substantial
    opposite: light, unserious
    near: frivolous, insignificant, lite, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, silly, slight, small, trivial, unimportant

  3. involving potential loss or injury

    "a serious accident"

    similar: dangerous, grave, grievous, hazardous, jeopardizing, menacing, parlous, perilous, risky, threatening, unhealthy, unsafe, venturesome
    related: dicey, insecure, precarious, treacherous, uncertain, ultrahazardous, chance, haphazard, random, distressing, sickening, unpleasant, ugly, wicked, adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, inimical, injurious, malignant, nasty, noxious, pernicious, pestilent, deadly, deathly, destructive, dire, fatal, fateful, fell, killer, lethal, mortal, murderous
    opposite: harmless, innocent, innocuous, nonhazardous, nonthreatening, safe, unthreatening
    near: advantageous, beneficial, good, ultrasafe

Related Entry: Serious-mindedness (noun)

Serious-mindedness is a different word from Serious. The synonyms below are for serious-mindedness, not for serious.

  1. a mental state free of jesting or trifling

    "she approached the task with her usual serious-mindedness"

    similar: earnest, earnestness, graveness, gravity, intentness, seriousness, soberness, sobriety, solemnity, solemnness, staidness
    related: gravitas, humorlessness, decisiveness, deliberation, determination, firmness, purposefulness, resoluteness, resolve, absorption, attentiveness, concentration, engrossment, enthrallment, immersion, intensity
    opposite: facetiousness, flightiness, flippancy, frivolity, frivolousness, levity, lightheartedness, lightness, play, unseriousness
    near: lightness, shallowness, superficiality, dalliance, dilettantism, cheerfulness, gaiety, glee, high-spiritedness, merriment, mirth

Related Entry: Serious-minded (adjective)

Serious-minded is a different word from Serious. The synonyms below are for serious-minded, not for serious.

  1. as in serious, somber

    similar: earnest, grave, sedate, serious, severe, sober, solemn, somber, weighty, introspective, retrospective, self-reflective, philosophical, broody, cogitative, contemplative, meditative, melancholy, musing, pensive, reflective, ruminant, ruminative, thoughtful, analytic, logical, rational, deliberate, purposeful, absentminded, abstracted, preoccupied
    opposite: unreflective, featherbrained, flighty, flippant, frivolous, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, scatterbrained, brainless, mindless, silly, thoughtless, unthinking

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Serious

The most common words with a similar meaning to Serious:

British: po-faced
earnest, grave, humorless, no-nonsense, sedate, severe, sober, sobersided, solemn, staid, uncomic, unsmiling, weighty, heavy, dangerous, grievous, hazardous, jeopardizing, menacing, parlous, perilous, risky, threatening, unhealthy, unsafe, venturesome

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Serious

Words with the opposite meaning of Serious:

facetious, flip, flippant, humorous, jesting, jocular, joking, kittenish, ludic, playful, light, unserious, harmless, innocent, innocuous, nonhazardous, nonthreatening, safe, unthreatening

Related Words for Serious

harsh, stern, strict, businesslike, professional, dignified, distinguished, elevated, serious-minded, gloomy, grim, big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, portentous, significant, solid, substantial, dicey, insecure, precarious, treacherous, uncertain, ultrahazardous, chance

Near Antonyms of Serious

antic, comic, comical, droll, farcical, funny, hilarious, hysterical, laughable, light-headed, ludicrous, ridiculous, riotous, risible, screaming, sidesplitting, uproarious, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, goofy, harebrained, lighthearted, puerile, scatterbrained, absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, cockeyed

Word Forms of Serious

Derived words: seriousness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Serious

Middle English seryows, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French serious, from Late Latin seriosus, alteration of Latin serius weighty, serious; probably akin to Old English swǣr heavy, sad

First known use: 15th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Serious

Words & Phrases Containing Serious

serious-minded, can't be serious

Frequently Asked Questions about Serious

What does "Serious" mean?

"Serious" means thoughtful or subdued in appearance or manner, sober. As an adjective, it is defined as: thoughtful or subdued in appearance or manner, sober. It has 3 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Serious"?

Other words for "Serious" include earnest, grave, humorless, no-nonsense, po-faced, sedate, severe and sober. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Serious" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Serious"?

There are 92 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Serious". Common alternatives include earnest, grave, humorless, no-nonsense, po-faced, sedate, severe, sober, sobersided and solemn.

What is the opposite of "Serious"?

Antonyms of "Serious" include facetious, flip, flippant, humorous, jesting, jocular, joking and kittenish. Near antonyms include antic, comic, comical and droll.

How do you use "Serious" in a sentence?

Examples of "Serious" in a sentence: "I'm serious when I say that no one should be walking in that neighborhood at night"; "a very serious film that dealt with the aftermath of the Gulf War"; "a serious accident".

Is "Serious" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Serious" is an adjective.

Is "Serious" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Serious" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Serious"?

"Serious" is pronounced /ˈsir-ē-əs/ and divided into syllables as se·ri·ous.