gravitas

[grav-i-tahs, ‑-tas]

noun

1. seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech.

gravitas

/ ˈɡrævɪˌtæs /

noun

1. seriousness, solemnity, or importance

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravitas¹

First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin gravitās; gravity

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravitas¹

C20: from Latin gravitās weight, from gravis heavy

Example Sentences

"He had gravitas, he had intelligence, he spoke in a very informed way about every detail of his business."

From BBC

“Those speeches just have a ring to them. They have a gravitas to them, they have a wisdom to them, they have timeless sense of theme to them.”

From Los Angeles Times

For Japan's Osaka, another match for her to underpin her gravitas in tennis' seemingly endless-yet-entertaining grind to prove current status.

From BBC

Going back to Benito’s masterpiece, its conceptual gravitas is almost grander than the songs themselves.

From Los Angeles Times

Both are concerned with childhood traumas, and if Shteyngart isn’t explicitly borrowing their plots he borrows some of their gravitas, the sense that preteendom is a crucible for experiencing life’s various crises.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dignity 
• gravity 
• sobriety