Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of serious

23 similar words · 5 opposite words

Another word for serious is grave. Other synonyms of serious are solemn, sedate, grievous, earnest and staid. The opposite of serious is unimportant.

Synonyms and similar words for serious

adjectiveWithout humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition.

  • earnestPossessing or characterised by seriousness.
  • solemnDeeply serious and sombre; grave.

adjectiveImportant; weighty; not insignificant.

adjectiveMore synonyms

  • austere
  • frightful
  • demureModest, quiet, reserved, or serious.
  • graveCharacterised by a dignified sense of seriousness.
  • grievousSerious, grave, dire, or dangerous.
  • lack-laughterCheerless; sombre; serious.
  • thoughtful
  • saturnine
  • sedateOf a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected...
  • solemncholy humorousSolemn; serious.
  • soberSubdued; solemn; grave.
  • somber
  • sombreGrave; extremely serious.
  • staidNot capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.
  • stern
  • sweer UK, dialectal
  • weightsomeOf, pertaining to, possessing, or characterised by weight; weighty; weightful; heavy; grave; grievous.
  • weighty figurativelyImportant; serious; not trivial or petty.
  • sad obsoleteDignified, serious, grave.
  • sage obsoleteGrave; serious; solemn.

Opposite of serious

adjectiveAntonym(s) of “important, weighty”.

adjectiveAntonym(s) of “intending what is said”.

adjectiveMore antonyms

Meaning of serious

  1. adjective Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition.
  2. adjective Important; weighty; not insignificant.
  3. adjective Really intending what is said (or planned, etc); in earnest; not jocular or deceiving.

Full definition of serious

serious in other languages

Questions about synonyms of serious

What is another word for serious?
Serious has 23 synonyms on Word.ws, such as grave, solemn, sedate, grievous, earnest, staid, demure and sober.
What is the opposite of serious?
The opposite of serious is unimportant.
What does serious mean?
Serious means without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: serious (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of serious.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/serious. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.