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.
Show More
- that which is of importance, grave, critical, or somber: You have to learn to separate the serious from the frivolous.
Show More
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 unserious
Contemporary Examples
“Benghazi was the definition of an intelligence failure,” Paul begins, dismissing the entire committee report as unserious.
But upon the appointment of Klein to that role, he criticized the choice as “political” and unserious.
The Texas Republican practically bilked his donors by running the most unserious campaign in recent American history.
The inmates of FX consider Viva to be effete, soft and unserious.
It does, however, stand as one more sign of how unserious Congress has become about governing.
Historical Examples
Still, we were both born as we are, and I've just as much right to be unserious as you have to be serious.
The Matador of the Five Towns and Other StoriesArnold Bennett
His own father was an unscrupulous, unserious man, that was true, but at any rate he had given his son a human chance.
The Sins of the ChildrenCosmo Hamilton
A lot of the girls have been sick a little with colds and small and unserious diseases in the past year.
Mary CaryKate Langley Bosher
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
Show More
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for unserious
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.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
serious
(sîr′ē-əs)- Being of such import as to cause anxiety, as of a physical condition.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.