gravitas
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of gravitas
First recorded in 1920–25; from Latin gravitās; see gravity
Explanation
Gravitas is seriousness and dignity. You might try to speak with gravitas, but no one will take you seriously if you're wearing clown makeup and giant floppy shoes. Gravitas is a Latin word that means "weight or heaviness." It came to mean a figurative weight after gravity acquired a primarily scientific meaning. A biography of Abraham Lincoln will inevitably be full of gravitas, and places like libraries, museums, and university buildings seem to have gravitas, or dignity — while grocery stores and gyms usually do not.
Vocabulary lists containing gravitas
Olympics Vocabulary for Champions
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Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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Foreign Words and Phrases Commonly Used in English, List 2
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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.
He called out the waste on the multibillion-dollar project, said he revived L.A.’s subway to the sea, and spoke with a passionate gravitas that Becerra could only dream of doing.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
The deal shows how the media sector, while fraught with changes in technology and customer habits, continues to attract trophy hunters who want the clout and gravitas of informing the world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
If things take a turn for the worse, it is doubtful he has the wisdom and gravitas to handle it.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
You seemed to suggest that gravitas at some level is important.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
Skulason is a gentle and intense man with a gravitas that is arresting.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
