seriousness
Americannoun
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earnest or sincere character or attitude.
The proposal was talked about, but I can't say with how much seriousness it was discussed.
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solemn or somber character or attitude.
Is that why your face is so grim—you're fighting to maintain seriousness and not laugh at the speaker’s name?
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the quality of showing or requiring deep thought or concentration.
The two chefs approach their gourmet cuisine with the pensive seriousness others might bring to a difficult math problem.
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the quality of being important or weighty, or of giving cause for concern.
We need educational tools that convey the seriousness of copyright infringement, as well as its consequences and penalties.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seriousness
Explanation
Seriousness is a quality of being calmly intent, or serious. Your seriousness will serve you well when you're studying for an important test. You might talk about the seriousness of an argument between two friends, or the seriousness of your math teacher when she expects the class to pay attention. Sometimes seriousness implies a bit of worry, like when you ask about the seriousness of your grandmother's health problems. The noun seriousness comes from an adjective, serious, with a Latin root, serius, which means "weighty, important, or grave."
Vocabulary lists containing seriousness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their mood, allowing for occasional moments of Great Seriousness, is sunny, their glass never less than three-quarters full — of lemonade, probably.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2022
"Seriousness, rather than depression is, I think, the characteristic of my work," he once told an interviewer.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2016
There are too many moments in this episode that exist only to further an overblown, trying-too-hard posture of Seriousness.
From Salon • Jul. 13, 2015
"Seriousness" has to do with questioning the proffered worst case predictions.
From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2015
Seriousness of life for a Caribou seems confirmed from its infancy.
From The Barren Ground Caribou of Keewatin by Harper, Francis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
