as in intentness
a mental state free of jesting or trifling
we knew from the doctor's seriousness that she didn't have good news
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of seriousness
But Torres said those facts did not outweigh the seriousness of the allegations.
—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
In Susan Sontag’s classic formulation, camp is failed seriousness, while the tragicomic is a seriousness of failure.
—Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
The judge acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations but also emphasized that every defendant is presumed innocent and that detention before trial is the exception, not the rule.
—Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 13 June 2026
Does the charm of Hockney’s work nullify its seriousness?
—Mark Rozzo, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026
The online world now requires the same seriousness.
—Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
His wife looks at me with sudden seriousness.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
In all seriousness, the New York Yankees can’t wait to get Judge, maybe the best player in baseball, back in the lineup.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 10 June 2026
And up until 2022, all of those reports — hundreds each year, sent by mail, fax, and email — were read, assessed for seriousness, and manually entered into a database by OHRP staff.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 5 June 2026
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
In Susan Sontag’s classic formulation, camp is failed seriousness, while the tragicomic is a seriousness of failure.
—Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
The judge acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations but also emphasized that every defendant is presumed innocent and that detention before trial is the exception, not the rule.
—Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 13 June 2026
Does the charm of Hockney’s work nullify its seriousness?
—Mark Rozzo, Vanity Fair, 12 June 2026
The online world now requires the same seriousness.
—Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
His wife looks at me with sudden seriousness.
—Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
In all seriousness, the New York Yankees can’t wait to get Judge, maybe the best player in baseball, back in the lineup.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 10 June 2026
And up until 2022, all of those reports — hundreds each year, sent by mail, fax, and email — were read, assessed for seriousness, and manually entered into a database by OHRP staff.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 5 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for seriousness
Noun
-
The company that’s accustomed to defying gravity is now defying market physics.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
-
The fact that much of the region excluded by the team hasn't been explored experimentally lays the groundwork for making precise measurements of gravity to test quantum gravity.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Western, for his part, had by this time recovered something of his usual bluster, and began again upon the subject of Blifil, commending his estate and his family with great earnestness, as though these considerations alone ought to have settled the matter long since.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
2 June 2026
-
Even if the earnestness is genuine, Véliz worries that the use of religious terminology and imagery around AI—deliberately or not—can make honest conversation harder to have.—
Chris Stokel-Walker,
Scientific American,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Gore is best known for Make America Great Again, her 2016 naked portrait of Trump with the paunch and solemnity of the great men of art history, adding, crucially, the tiniest of compensatory micropenises.—
Eugenie Brinkema,
ARTnews.com,
14 June 2026
-
As his own self-celebration has fizzled, a void has opened between the scheduled roster of events and the true purpose and meaning of the solemnity of July 4, 2026.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Seriousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/seriousness. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
