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serious
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/ˈsɪəriəs/- 1bad or dangerous enough to make you worried
The sale of the company will have serious implications for people’s jobs.
a serious problem/mistake:It’s not a serious problem – we should be able to fix it without too much trouble.
a serious illness/accident/injury:a serious head injury
a serious crime/offence/threat:An accident like this poses a serious threat to the environment.
- 3meaning what you say or do, and not making a joke
I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were being serious.
The police have made no serious attempt to address these issues.
serious about:I’m not convinced they’re serious about the deal.
serious about (doing) something:Do you think Mike’s serious about going to live in New Zealand?
deadly/dead (=completely) serious:‘Are you serious about leaving your job?’ ‘Dead serious.’
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derived word
seriousness
noun [uncountable]This is the British English definition of serious. View American English definition of serious.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.
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