[syn: seriousness, earnestness, serious-mindedness, sincerity]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Serious \Se"ri*ous\, a. [L. serius: cf. F. s['e]rieux, LL.
seriosus.]
1. Grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful;
solemn; not light, gay, or volatile.
[1913 Webster]
He is always serious, yet there is about his manner
a graceful ease. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. Really intending what is said; being in earnest; not
jesting or deceiving. --Beaconsfield.
[1913 Webster]
3. Important; weighty; not trifling; grave.
[1913 Webster]
The holy Scriptures bring to our ears the most
serious things in the world. --Young.
[1913 Webster]
4. Hence, giving rise to apprehension; attended with danger;
as, a serious injury.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Grave; solemn; earnest; sedate; important; weighty. See
Grave.
[1913 Webster] -- Se"ri*ous*ly, adv. --
Se"ri*ous*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
seriousness
n 1: an earnest and sincere feeling [syn: earnestness,
seriousness, sincerity]
2: the quality of arousing fear or distress; "he learned the
seriousness of his illness" [syn: seriousness,
distressfulness]
3: the trait of being serious; "a lack of solemnity is not
necessarily a lack of seriousness"- Robert Rice [syn:
seriousness, earnestness, serious-mindedness,
sincerity] [ant: frivolity, frivolousness]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
77 Moby Thesaurus words for "seriousness":
abandon, ardency, ardor, commitment, committedness, decidedness,
decision, decisiveness, decorousness, dedication, definiteness,
demureness, determinateness, determination, determinedness,
devotedness, devotion, devoutness, earnest, earnestness, faith,
faithfulness, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fidelity, fire,
formality, gravity, grimness, heartiness, heat, heatedness,
impassionedness, intensity, intentness, long face, loyalty,
moderation, no joke, no laughing matter, obstinacy, passion,
passionateness, perseverance, persistence, purpose, purposefulness,
relentlessness, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, resolvedness,
sedateness, self-will, sincerity, single-mindedness,
sober-mindedness, soberness, sobersidedness, sobersides, sobriety,
solemnity, solemnness, somberness, spirit, staidness,
straight face, temperance, tenacity, thoughtfulness,
total commitment, vehemence, warmth, weightiness, will, zeal