solemn

sol·emn

adjective \ˈsä-ləm\

Definition of SOLEMN

1

: marked by the invocation of a religious sanction <a solemn oath>

2

: marked by the observance of established form or ceremony; specifically : celebrated with full liturgical ceremony

3

a : awe-inspiring : sublime <solemn beauty>

b : marked by grave sedateness and earnest sobriety <a solemn gathering>

c : somber, gloomy <a solemn gray building>

— sol·emn·ly adverb

— sol·emn·ness noun

Examples of SOLEMN

1. He spoke in a solemn and thoughtful manner.
2. He wore a very solemn expression on his face.
3. He recited the poem in a solemn voice.
4. A solemn crowd gathered around the grave.
5. We made a solemn promise to love each other forever.
6. The women running the office where I was given immunizations and completed more paperwork said they had a young friend back in the District who would love my British accent. They were going to call her this very instant, they teased, and then I'd have a companion for the evening. They also talked in more solemn tones about all the brave men and women who came through the base and then shipped off to Iraq. —Willem Marx, Harper's, September 2006
7. Caesar was slaughtered in a sanctified space, his body was sacrosanct since he held the position of supreme pontiff, and his assassins had recently taken a solemn oath to protect his life with their own. Yet none of this seems to have figured prominently in the charges that were laid against his killers. —Robert Garland, History Today, February 2004
8. The testimony may well have had serious judicial consequences, even lethal ones, but its style is so glum and flat-footed that it gives an impression not of solemn majesty but of grotesque comedy … —Jonathan Ree, Times Literary Supplement, 13 Aug. 2004
9. To the vast majority of people in this Muslim nation of 145 million, Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, not war and hatred. It requires that women dress modestly, but not make themselves invisible. Its mosques are solemn and silent, but its shrines are relaxed and colorful. Its liturgy says Islam should be spread by persuasion, not by force … —Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2001

Origin of SOLEMN

Middle English solempne, from Anglo-French, from Latin sollemnis regularly appointed, solemn

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to SOLEMN

Synonyms

august, distingué, distinguished, imposing, portly, dignified, staid, stately

Antonyms

flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, silly, undignified

Related Words

decorous, proper, seemly; grave, grim, po-faced [British], sober, somber (or sombre); aristocratic, elegant, elevated, handsome, lordly, magisterial, majestic, noble

Near Antonyms

coarse, crass, crude, improper, indecent, uncouth, unseemly, vulgar

See Synonym Discussion at serious

Rhymes with SOLEMN

slalom