serious-minded

adjective

se·​ri·​ous-mind·​ed ˌsir-ē-əs-ˈmīn-dəd How to pronounce serious-minded (audio)
Synonyms of serious-mindednext
: having a serious disposition or trend of thought
serious-mindedly adverb
serious-mindedness noun

Examples of serious-minded in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The number of places in the world where someone can earn a living making serious-minded fine art has shrunk drastically—now the number of places where people go to prison for rigorous creative action is rising at an alarming speed. Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025 Consider the career arc of Lane Monte Kiffin, son of esteemed and very serious-minded defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025 Inside, serious-minded speakers compete with bursts of music and chanting from neighboring pavilions. Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2025 But a bigger problem is that his earnest, hard-working performance can’t help but utilize the same tools now familiar from much less serious-minded contexts. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025 Gore then spent eight years earning a reputation as a smart, serious-minded governing partner to Clinton. Time, 3 Nov. 2025 Shane Hollander, the serious-minded captain of the Montreal Meteors, and star and playboy Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Bears are played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively. Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025 In this more serious-minded (and Madea-free) movie from Perry, Idris Elba plays Monty, a hard-working father who loses custody of his daughters to his drug-addled wife (Tasha Smith). Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025 Still, this is an admirably serious-minded attempt to go inside a troubled community that most of us would go out of our way to avoid — showing compassion for a struggle that can frequently be one step forward, two steps back. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1694, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of serious-minded was in 1694

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Serious-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serious-minded. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

serious-minded

adjective
se·​ri·​ous-mind·​ed
ˌsir-ē-ə-ˈsmīn-dəd
: having a serious disposition or trend of thought

More from Merriam-Webster on serious-minded

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster