solemnly
Americanadverb
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in a grave, sober, or mirthless fashion.
She took me aside, solemnly laid her hand on my shoulder, and said, “You must keep all this going when I'm gone.”
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in a gravely or somberly impressive manner; in a way that causes serious thoughts.
We are solemnly reminded by this week’s events just how prevalent domestic violence still is.
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in a serious, earnest, formal, or ceremonious manner.
We watched the new doctors solemnly pledge to always be loyal to the welfare of the patients who come under their care.
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in a way that is legally binding, as a declaration or agreement.
I do solemnly swear or affirm that I requested and returned the absentee ballot, and that I have not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election.
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in a way that involves religious forms or rites.
The chapel was solemnly consecrated on the 25th of June, 1951.
Other Word Forms
- oversolemnly adverb
- semisolemnly adverb
- supersolemnly adverb
- unsolemnly adverb
Etymology
Origin of solemnly
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.
“I do solemnly swear . . .” May we ever keep them in our thoughts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
An announcer on state television solemnly read a statement from the 88-member Assembly of Experts next to a picture of the new 56-year-old leader, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
In 2023, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak solemnly vowed there would “be no chlorine-washed chicken and no hormone-treated beef on the U.K. market. Not now, not ever.”
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
There’s something we all solemnly acknowledge in November and then immediately forget by January: the side dishes are the real reason to show up.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026
Once, in reference to winters in central Florida, she solemnly informed me, “We usually get frosts once or twice a winter, but this year we had ’em a couple of times.”
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
