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Synonyms

seriously

American  
[seer-ee-uhs-lee] / ˈsɪər i əs li /

adverb

  1. in a serious manner.

    He shook his head seriously.

  2. to an alarmingly grave extent.

    seriously ill.

  3. with genuine, earnest intent; sincerely.

    Seriously, kids, we have to get home before dark.
seriously British  
/ ˈsɪərɪəslɪ /

adverb

  1. in a serious manner or to a serious degree

  2. informal extremely or remarkably

    seriously tall
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of seriously

First recorded in 1500–10; serious + -ly

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.

There have been a few people seriously interested in the restaurant but no formal offers yet, the sisters said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

If I announced that Ohio State had bought my college football show, I’d expect to stop being taken seriously when talking about the playoff race.

From Slate • Apr. 7, 2026

Iranian pensioner Morteza Hamidi said he has seen Trump back down too many times to take his words seriously: "We are now numb to his threats," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Maybe we’ll really let things go so far that we’ll seriously need to consider blotting out the sky someday soon.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

“I am the most serious you could seriously be!”

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

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.