English Online Dictionary. What means serious? What does serious mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin sēriōsus, an extension of Latin sērius (“grave, earnest, serious”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy”). Cognate with German schwer (“heavy, difficult, severe”), Old English swǣr (“heavy, grave, grievous”). More at swear, sweer.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əs/, /ˈsɪː.ɹɪ.əs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɪɚ.i.əs/, /ˈsɪɹ.i.əs/
- Rhymes: -ɪəɹiəs
- Homophones: cereous, Sirius (one pronunciation)
Adjective
serious (comparative more serious, superlative most serious)
- Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition
- Synonyms: earnest, solemn
- deadly serious
- Important; weighty; not insignificant
- Really intending what is said (or planned, etc); in earnest; not jocular or deceiving
- (of a relationship) Committed.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:serious
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of "important, weighty"): trifling, unimportant
- (antonym(s) of "intending what is said"): jesting
Derived terms
- srs (abbreviation)
- dead serious
- ha ha only serious
- joco-serious
- non-serious
- self-serious
- seriously
- seriousness
- serious-minded
- serious-mindedly
- serious-mindedness
Translations
Adverb
serious (not comparable)
- (colloquial or dialect) seriously, in a serious manner (most often heard in take or mean serious)
Further reading
- “serious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “serious”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.