serious
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
How often you will meet it
Rank 956 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 19,226 times across 175,177 chapters — 0.009% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 1,000 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
adjective
- concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities a serious student of historya serious attempt to learn to ski
- of great consequence marriage is a serious matter
- causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm also: dangerous, grave, grievous, severe, life-threatening a dangerous operationa grave situation
- appealing to the mind also: good good musica serious book
- completely lacking in playfulness also: unplayful, sober
- requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve raised serious objections to the proposalthe plan has a serious flaw
serious in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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But at night, alone in his room, he was serious.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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But Anne Boleyn escaped one danger only to encounter another equally serious.
Windsor Castle · William Harrison Ainsworth · Chapter 1
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I warned you--most serious I done so--and what more could I do?
The Torch and Other Tales · Eden Phillpotts · Chapter 1
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A rather serious circumstance growing out of such a case will be related in some future chapter.
White Jacket · Herman Melville · Chapter 1
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But Ralph, though having an inclination to convivial pleasures, was naturally of a serious, even of a solemn temperament.
The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance · Hall, Sir Caine · Chapter 1