Synonyms for serious
ˈsɪər i əsse·ri·ous

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. seriousadjective

   Really intending what is said; being in earnest; not jesting or deceiving; meaningful.

   After all these years, we're finally getting serious attention.

   Antonyms:
   jesting

2. seriousadjective

   Antonyms:
   trifling, unimportant

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. serious

   Synonyms:
   grave, thoughtful, careful, earnest, solemn, important, weighty

   Antonyms:
   volatile, gay, thoughtless, careless, joking, jocose, insignificant, unimportant, trifling, trivial, light

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. seriousadjective

   concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities

   "a serious student of history"; "a serious attempt to learn to ski"; "gave me a serious look"; "a serious young man"; "are you serious or joking?"; "Don't be so serious!"

   Synonyms:
   unplayful, severe, grave, good, life-threatening, sober, dangerous, grievous

   Antonyms:
   flighty, trivial, scatterbrained, light, lightheaded, light-headed, empty-headed, head-in-the-clouds, noncritical, silly, dizzy, flippant, flyaway, featherbrained, noncrucial, airheaded, frivolous, giddy, nonintellectual, easy, light-minded, unimportant, idle

2. seriousadjective

   of great consequence

   "marriage is a serious matter"

   Synonyms:
   unplayful, severe, grave, good, life-threatening, sober, dangerous, grievous

   Antonyms:
   dizzy, light, light-headed, empty-headed, flyaway, scatterbrained, giddy, lightheaded, head-in-the-clouds, nonintellectual, unimportant, flighty, light-minded, idle, flippant, airheaded, featherbrained, silly, trivial, noncrucial, easy, noncritical, frivolous

3. dangerous, grave, grievous, serious, severe, life-threateningadjective

   causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm

   "a dangerous operation"; "a grave situation"; "a grave illness"; "grievous bodily harm"; "a serious wound"; "a serious turn of events"; "a severe case of pneumonia"; "a life-threatening disease"

   Synonyms:
   severe, sober, wicked, stark, unsafe, terrible, hard, spartan, stern, heavy, unplayful, weighty, monstrous, grave, good, grievous, atrocious, sedate, flagitious, life-threatening, dangerous, knockout, austere, heartbreaking, heartrending, solemn

   Antonyms:
   light-headed, empty-headed, giddy, lightheaded, featherbrained, easy, dizzy, airheaded, flighty, flyaway, noncritical, head-in-the-clouds, trivial, frivolous, silly, unimportant, noncrucial, light, nonintellectual, flippant, light-minded, scatterbrained, idle

4. good, seriousadjective

   appealing to the mind

   "good music"; "a serious book"

   Synonyms:
   dear, good, beneficial, unplayful, in effect(p), unspoiled, skillful, sound, secure, effective, severe, upright, salutary, in force(p), skilful, practiced, dependable, estimable, life-threatening, grievous, expert, just, grave, dangerous, sober, proficient, full, honest, respectable, undecomposed, unspoilt, ripe, safe, adept, honorable, well(p), right, near

   Antonyms:
   flighty, featherbrained, light-minded, scatterbrained, dizzy, flyaway, flippant, empty-headed, easy, noncritical, idle, airheaded, silly, noncrucial, lightheaded, light, head-in-the-clouds, unimportant, giddy, nonintellectual, light-headed, trivial, frivolous

5. unplayful, serious, soberadjective

   completely lacking in playfulness

   Synonyms:
   severe, sombre, drab, grave, good, sedate, unplayful, life-threatening, sober, somber, dangerous, grievous, solemn

   Antonyms:
   dizzy, noncrucial, silly, giddy, flighty, lightheaded, empty-headed, flyaway, scatterbrained, flippant, light-minded, head-in-the-clouds, featherbrained, airheaded, light, trivial, unimportant, nonintellectual, light-headed, easy, noncritical, idle, frivolous

6. seriousadjective

   requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve

   "raised serious objections to the proposal"; "the plan has a serious flaw"

   Synonyms:
   unplayful, severe, grave, good, life-threatening, sober, dangerous, grievous

   Antonyms:
   light-headed, unimportant, nonintellectual, lightheaded, trivial, empty-headed, noncrucial, light, head-in-the-clouds, silly, flighty, noncritical, flippant, giddy, scatterbrained, flyaway, dizzy, light-minded, easy, featherbrained, frivolous, idle, airheaded

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. seriousadjective

   Synonyms:
   grave, solemn, sedate, staid, sober, earnest, demure, not gay, not sportive or jocose

2. seriousadjective

   Synonyms:
   important, weighty, great, momentous

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. seriousadjective

   Synonyms:
   grave, earnest, thoughtful, solemn, staid, sober, demure, saturnine, momentous, important, weighty, grave, dangerous, alarming, critical

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "serious":

   grave, severe, seriously, acute, major, gross, dangerous, earnest, heavy, grievous, significant, dire, deep, graves, great, conscientiously, gravely, seriousness, critical, important, profound, considerable, severely, bad, earnestly, big, gravity, substantial, large, egregious, strong, huge, jad, real, difficult

How to pronounce serious?

How to say serious in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use serious in a sentence?

1. Felicity Wishart:

   There is no doubt that the reef is still in serious environmental danger.

2. President Barack Obama on Wednesday:

   Cyber threats pose one of the most serious economic and national security challenges to the United States.

3. Carlos Del Castillo:

   Even if their dire predictions are cut in, let's say, half, we are still going to have serious problems in coastal cities, sea level rise is not getting the attention it deserves. It has clear and serious implications to our way of life.

4. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein:

   We are seeing a very worrying pattern in China that has serious implications for civil society and the important work they do across the country.

5. Annalena Baerbock:

   We are prepared for a serious dialogue on mutual agreements and steps to bring everyone in Europe more security.