se·ri·ous

(sîr′ē-əs)

adj.

1. Thoughtful, somber, or grave in manner: He became serious when he was asked about the economy.

2. Not joking or trifling: I was serious when I said I liked your haircut.

3. Deeply interested or involved: a serious golfer.

4. Meriting great concern: a serious illness; a serious mistake.

5. Performed with careful thought: a serious effort to reform tax policy.

6. Pertaining to important rather than trivial matters: a serious discussion.

7. Sincerely meant: mistook a sarcastic comment for a serious question.

8. Intended for sophisticated people: serious music.

9. Informal Of considerable size or scope; substantial: a serious amount of money.

[Middle English, from Old French serieux, from Late Latin sēriōsus, from Latin sērius.]

se′ri·ous·ly adv.

se′ri·ous·ness n.

Synonyms: serious, sober, grave², solemn, earnest¹
These adjectives refer to manner, appearance, disposition, or acts marked by absorption in thought, pressing concerns, or significant work. Serious implies a concern with responsibility and work as opposed to play: serious students of music. Sober emphasizes circumspection and self-restraint: "When ... his sober demeanor gave way at the graveside, it was with the severity of one bereft beyond redemption" (Philip Roth).
Grave suggests the dignity and somberness associated with weighty matters: "a little girl with brownish-blackish hair standing at one of those windows like a grave captain at the prow of a ship" (Stacey D'Erasmo).
Solemn often adds to grave the suggestion of impressiveness: The judge was solemn when issuing the sentence. Earnest implies sincerity and intensity of purpose: We are earnest in our desire to reach an equitable solution.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Seriousness

Bearing his earnestness like an emblem —Donald MacKenzie
Every man will have his hours of seriousness; but like the hours of rest, they often are ill-chosen and unwholesome —Walter Savage Landor
Grave as a judge that’s giving charge —Samuel Wesley
Grave as an old cat —Anon
Grave as an owl in a barn —George Farquhar
Sedate as a committeeman —William Mcllvanney
Serious as a doctor —Eudora Welty
Serious as an overdue mortgage —Alexander King
Serious as a pig pissin’ —C. J. Koch
(You are so) serious, as if a glacier spoke in your ear —Frank O’Hara
Serious as if at church —Émile Zola
Serious as the Ten Commandments —W. B. Yeats
Serious like a hyacinth … which has had no sun —Virginia Woolf
Sober as a bone —Erich Maria Remarque
Sober as a coroner inspecting a corpse —Amelie Rives
Sober as a judge —Anon
According to Stevenson’s Book of Proverbs, Maxims and Famous Sayings, John Arbuthnot used the simile in John Bull in 1712, and 22 years later, Henry Fielding used it in Don Quixote In England. Since then, it has become common usage; its meaning more frequently tied to a serious manner than sobriety. In one of his Tutt and Tutt legal stories, Arthur Train added an interesting note of specificity with “Sober as a Kansas judge.”
Solemn as a child in shock —C. J. Koch
Solemn as a clergyman —Nina Bawden
Solemn as a lawyer at a will reading —J. B. Priestley
Solemn as a nun —R. Wright Campbell
Solemn as a soldier going to the front —Norman Mailer
Solemn as kewpie dolls —Diane Ackerman
Solemnly agreed, as though pledging allegiance to the flag —Robert Traver
See Also: AGREEMENT/DISAGREEMENT
Stern as a Tartar —Lorenz Hart
The Tartar described is Queen Elizabeth. This is also the title of a song from Hart’s lyrics for The Garried Gaities of 1926.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	seriousness - an earnest and sincere feeling earnestness, sincerity solemnity, gravity - a solemn and dignified feeling
	2.	seriousness - the quality of arousing fear or distress; "he learned the seriousness of his illness" distressfulness severeness, severity, badness - used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
	3.	seriousness - the trait of being serious; "a lack of solemnity is not necessarily a lack of seriousness"- Robert Rice serious-mindedness, earnestness, sincerity trait - a distinguishing feature of your personal nature commitment, committedness - the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose; "a man of energy and commitment" graveness, gravity, soberness, sobriety, somberness, sombreness - a manner that is serious and solemn sedateness, solemness, solemnity, staidness - a trait of dignified seriousness frivolity, frivolousness - the trait of being frivolous; not serious or sensible

seriousness

noun

1. importance, gravity, urgency, moment, weight, danger, significance the seriousness of the crisis

2. solemnity, gravity, earnestness, sobriety, gravitas, sternness, humourlessness, staidness, sedateness They had shown a commitment and a seriousness of purpose.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

seriousness

noun

1. Sober sincerity:

earnestness, sobersidedness.

2. The condition of being grave and of involving serious consequences:

graveness, gravity, momentousness, weightiness.

Translations

جِدِّيَّه، خُطورَه

vážnostopravdovost

alvor

Ernst Seriosität

σοβαρότητα

seriedad formalidad gravedad

intérêt sérieux

ozbiljnost

alvara, alvarleiki

serietà gravit...gravità

ernst

alvor

resnost

ağır başlılıkciddiyet

严重性

seriousness

[ˈsɪərɪəsnɪs] N

1. (= earnestness) [of suggestion, publication, occasion, voice] → seriedad f; [of report, information, account] → fiabilidad f
in all seriousness → hablando en serio

2. (= gravity) [of situation, problem, threat, damage] → gravedad f, seriedad f; [of illness, injury, mistake] → gravedad f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

seriousness

[ˈsɪəriəsnɪs] n

[person] → sérieux m

[problem] → gravité f

seriousness

(= earnestness) → Ernst m; (= lack of frivolity) → Ernsthaftigkeit f; (of consideration, discussion, point, matter etc) → Ernst m; (of newspaper, interest) → Ernsthaftigkeit f, → Seriosität f; (of offer, suggestion) → Seriosität f; in all seriousness → ganz im Ernst

(= critical nature, of accident, loss, mistake, injury, illness) → Schwere f; (of problem, situation, patient’s condition, threat, shortage) → Ernst m; (of deterioration) → Bedenklichkeit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

seriousness

[ˈsɪərɪəsnɪs] n (gen) → serietà, gravità; (of error) → gravità
in all seriousness → in tutta sincerità

serious

(ˈsiəriəs) adjective

1. grave or solemn. a quiet, serious boy; You're looking very serious.

2. (often with about) in earnest; sincere. Is he serious about wanting to be a doctor?

3. intended to make people think. He reads very serious books.

4. causing worry; dangerous. a serious head injury; The situation is becoming serious.

ˈseriousness noun

ˈseriously adverb

in a serious way; to a serious extent. Is he seriously thinking of being an actor?; She is seriously ill.

take (someone or something) seriously

1. to regard (a person or his statement etc) as in earnest. You mustn't take his jokes/promises seriously.

2. to regard (a matter) as a subject for concern or serious thought. He refuses to take anything seriously.