Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

half-seriously

  • a word derived from serious.
    serious
    adjective
    of, showing, or characterized by deep thought.

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.

See Examples For:

When Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers appeared on the show, Colbert’s fellow late-night hosts joked — half-seriously — about who might be cancelled next.

From Salon May 19, 2026

In one representative passage, So half-seriously, half-facetiously writes that Maddox Jolie Pitt, Angelina Jolie’s adopted son, is his “role model, because I’m still waiting for a rich white person to adopt me.”

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 4, 2023

She, only half-seriously, said her home address right now is the Olympic Village.

From Seattle Times Feb. 8, 2022

He completed marathons in Boston, Washington, New York and Honolulu, and joked — half-seriously, it seemed — about leaving mediation behind to open a running-shoe store.

From Washington Post Nov. 30, 2021

Gone, too, was “Perry O’Parsons,” the name invented for the singing sensation of stage and screen that he’d half-seriously hoped some day to be.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote