serious
[seer-ee-uh s]
- of, showing, or characterized by deep thought.
- of grave or somber disposition, character, or manner: a serious occasion; a serious man.
- being in earnest; sincere; not trifling: His interest was serious.
- requiring thought, concentration, or application: serious reading; a serious task.
- weighty or important: a serious book; Marriage is a serious matter.
- giving cause for apprehension; critical: The plan has one serious flaw.
- Medicine/Medical. (of a patient's condition) having unstable or otherwise abnormal vital signs and other unfavorable indicators, as loss of appetite and poor mobility: patient is acutely ill.
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- that which is of importance, grave, critical, or somber: You have to learn to separate the serious from the frivolous.
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Origin of serious
Synonyms
See more synonyms for serious on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
3, 5. trivial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for half-serious
Contemporary Examples
Detroiters, now erecting a Robocop statue as a half-joking, half-serious morale boost, may want to consider bronzing Mulally next.
Historical Examples
The half-whimsical, half-serious smile returned to his eyes.
A Breath of Prairie and other storiesWill Lillibridge
Socrates in reply is led into a half-serious, half-comic vein of reflection.
GorgiasPlato
"You're not listening, Miss Harkutt," said Rice with half-serious reproach.
A First Family of TasajaraBret Harte
He had a way, half-laughing, half-serious, of calling it his Bible.
The Life of James McNeill WhistlerElizabeth Robins Pennell
He was half-serious, and I acknowledged that the affair was rather nerve wearing.
Quintus OakesCharles Ross Jackson
half-serious
- not entirely serious
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serious
- grave in nature or disposition; thoughtfula serious person
- marked by deep feeling; in earnest; sincereis he serious or joking?
- concerned with important mattersa serious conversation
- requiring effort or concentrationa serious book
- giving rise to fear or anxiety; criticala serious illness
- informal worthy of regard because of substantial quantity or qualityserious money; serious wine
- informal extreme or remarkablea serious haircut
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Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin sēriōsus, from Latin sērius; probably related to Old English swǣr gloomy, Gothic swers esteemed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for half-serious
serious
adj.
mid-15c., "expressing earnest purpose or thought" (of persons), from Middle French sérieux "grave, earnest" (14c.), from Late Latin seriosus, from Latin serius "weighty, important, grave," probably from a PIE root *swer- (4) "heavy" (cf. Lithuanian sveriu "to weigh, lift," svarus "heavy;" Old English swære "heavy," German schwer "heavy," Gothic swers "honored, esteemed," literally "weighty"). As opposite of jesting, from 1712; as opposite of light (of music, theater, etc.), from 1762. Meaning "attended with danger" is from 1800.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
serious
(sîr′ē-əs)- Being of such import as to cause anxiety, as of a physical condition.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.