seriousadjective
uk/ˈsɪə.ri.əs/us/ˈsɪr.i.əs/serious adjective (BAD)
B1 severe in effect; bad:
[ after noun ] mainly Indian English very ill
More examples
- The long hot summer has led to serious water shortages.
- The drought caused serious shortfalls in the food supply.
- Drunken drivers pose a serious threat to other road users.
- It was a serious fall - it'll be a while before you feel up to walking again.
- Strong winds had caused serious damage to the roof.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Serious and severe
- acute
- critical
- critically
- desperate
- dire
- egregious
- grave
- gravity
- grievous
- heaviness
- heavy
- mortal
- seriously
- severely
- severity
- stiff
- stiffness
- swingeing
- terminal
- utmost
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serious adjective (NOT JOKING)
B1 not joking or intended to be funny:
B1 A serious person is quiet, thinks carefully about things, and does not laugh a lot:
More examples
- I thought she was joking but she was deadly serious.
- He was being funny but I think he was half serious.
- I know it's a funny piece of writing but I think there's a serious point being made here.
- Listen, I'm being serious now - this is a big problem.
- He's very serious about his work.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lacking humour
- beyond
- beyond a joke idiom
- earnest
- humourless
- joke
- laugh
- lightly
- mirthless
- po-faced
- poker-faced
- rofl
- seriously
- sober
- solemnity
- sombre
- starchily
- starchy
- take a joke idiom
- turgid
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serious adjective (DETERMINED)
[ after verb ] determined to follow a particular plan of action:
[ after verb ] If two people who have a loving relationship are serious about each other, they intend to stay with each other for a long time and possibly marry:
More examples
- Are you serious about leaving?
- Was he serious about wanting a new job?
- If they were serious about ending poverty they would increase the minimum wage.
- You're not serious about moving house, are you
- So is she serious about Anthony?
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Strong-willed
- a firm hand idiom
- adamant
- adamantine
- aggressive
- an iron hand/fist in a velvet glove idiom
- fury
- go-getter
- going
- gutsy
- hard-boiled
- importunate
- pertinacious
- pigheaded
- purposeful
- pushy
- recalcitrant
- wilful
- will not take no for an answer idiom
- willful
- with guns blazing idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
serious adjective (NEEDING ATTENTION)
B2 [ before noun ] needing or deserving your complete attention:
More examples
- I have serious concerns about her ability to do the job.
- So he is a serious contender for the title?
- I have serious doubts about the whole project.
- This is a serious complaint - we can't just ignore it.
- This is a serious matter.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Very important or urgent
- all-important
- arch
- at all cost(s) idiom
- be a matter of life and/or death idiom
- burning
- chief
- considerable
- critical
- major league
- make the world go around/round idiom
- materially
- minor league
- mission-critical
- prized
- prominent
- radical
- sacred
- salient
- seriously
- substantial
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serious adjective (EXTREME)
informal extreme in degree or amount:
informal very good of its type:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: very & extreme
- abject
- awful
- badly
- beyond
- classic
- classical
- devastating
- drop dead! idiom
- eminently
- esp
- especially
- heartily
- impossibly
- perfect
- sheer
- specially
- supremely
- thoroughly
- whole
- wide
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