serious

serious
se|ri|ous [ `sıriəs ] adjective ***
▸ 1 bad enough to worry you
▸ 2 deserving attention
▸ 3 not joking
▸ 4 careful and detailed
▸ 5 not laughing much
▸ 6 involving difficult ideas
▸ 7 involving strong feelings
▸ 8 caring about activity
▸ 9 extreme/large in amount
1. ) bad or dangerous enough to make you worried:
a serious illness/accident/injury: a serious head injury
a serious problem/mistake: It's not a serious problem we should be able to fix it easily.
a serious crime/offense/threat: An accident like this poses a serious threat to the environment.
The sale of the company will have serious implications for people's jobs.
2. ) important and deserving attention:
This is an extremely serious matter.
He has no serious competition for the job.
3. ) meaning what you say or do, and not making a joke:
I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were being serious.
The police have made no serious attempt to address these issues.
serious about: I'm not convinced they're serious about the deal.
serious about doing something: Do you think Mike's serious about going to live in New York?
deadly/dead (=completely) serious: Are you serious about leaving your job? Dead serious.
a ) be serious SPOKEN used for telling someone that you think what they are saying is not sensible:
Be serious! How would we pay for a vacation in the Bahamas?
you can't be serious: You can't be serious! You're actually going to lend him money again?
b ) I'm serious SPOKEN used for emphasizing that you mean what you say:
I'm serious. I don't ever want to see you again.
4. ) careful and detailed:
serious consideration/thought/discussion: We'll have to give the situation some serious thought.
5. ) someone who is serious thinks carefully about things and does not laugh much:
Peter seems serious but he actually has a good sense of humor.
a ) appearing worried or upset:
Is Mary all right? She looked a little serious.
6. ) usually before noun dealing with important, complicated, or difficult ideas or subjects:
serious books/music
7. ) if you are in a serious romantic relationship with someone, you intend to stay together for a long time:
Is it getting serious with you and June?
a serious boyfriend/girlfriend/relationship: He's never had a serious relationship with anyone.
8. ) involved in an activity in a way that shows you like it a lot and think it is important:
My father is a serious runner.
9. ) INFORMAL extreme, or large in amount:
We did some serious hiking last weekend.
It's time you made some serious money.
╾ se|ri|ous|ness noun uncount

Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.

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  • serious — I (devoted) adjective ardent, assiduous, decided, dedicated, determined, devout, dogged, dutiful, eager, earnest, faithful, fervent, firm, fixed, intent, loyal, passionate, purposeful, relentless, resolute, resolved, settled, sincere, steadfast,… …   Law dictionary

  • serious — serious, grave, solemn, somber, sedate, staid, sober, earnest may be applied to persons, their looks, or their acts with the meaning not light or frivolous but actually or seemingly weighed down by deep thought, heavy cares, or purposive or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • serious — [sir′ē əs] adj. [ME seryows < ML seriosus < L serius, grave, orig., prob. weighty, heavy < ? IE base * swer > OE swær, heavy, sad, Goth swers, important, orig., heavy] 1. of, showing, having, or caused by earnestness or deep thought;… …   English World dictionary

  • Serious — may refer to: * Serious (Duran Duran song), a single from the album Liberty * Serious (Duffy song) the fourth single of her debut album. * Serious (Gwen song) , a song from Gwen Stefani s album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. * Serious (TV series) , a… …   Wikipedia

  • Serious — Se ri*ous, a. [L. serius: cf. F. s[ e]rieux, LL. seriosus.] 1. Grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn; not light, gay, or volatile. [1913 Webster] He is always serious, yet there is about his manner a graceful ease. Macaulay …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • serious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) demanding or characterized by careful consideration or application. 2) solemn or thoughtful. 3) sincere and in earnest, rather than joking or half hearted. 4) significant or worrying in terms of danger or risk: serious injury. 5)… …   English terms dictionary

  • serious — [adj1] somber, humorless austere, bound, bound and determined*, businesslike, cold sober*, contemplative, deadpan*, deliberate, determined, downbeat*, earnest, funereal, genuine, go for broke*, grave, grim, honest, intent, long faced*, meditative …   New thesaurus

  • serious — mid 15c., expressing earnest purpose or thought (of persons), from M.Fr. sérieux grave, earnest (14c.), from L.L. seriosus, from L. serius weighty, important, grave, probably from a PIE root *swer (Cf. Lith. sveriu to weigh, lift, svarus heavy; O …   Etymology dictionary

  • serious — se|ri|ous W1S1 [ˈsıəriəs US ˈsır ] adj ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(situation/problem)¦ 2 be serious 3¦(important)¦ 4¦(large amount)¦ 5¦(romantic relationship)¦ 6¦(person)¦ 7¦(sport/activity)¦ 8¦(very good)¦ 9¦(worried/unhappy)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • serious — adjective 1 SITUATION/PROBLEM a serious situation, problem, accident etc is extremely bad or dangerous: a serious illness | How serious do you think the situation is? | serious crime: The number of serious crimes has increased dramatically in the …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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