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
Critics point to Bolton’s public statements over the years about the seriousness of protecting classified information.
—
Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
The Rac put out a midafternoon statement acknowledging the seriousness of the shooting.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Police officials quickly confirmed the seriousness of the threat.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
The detectives went and wrote a criminal complaint, charging Ruth with stalking and loitering and prowling at night, misdemeanors that did not reflect the seriousness, or danger, of the situation, and got a warrant for his arrest.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
We’ve all been cast adrift in the cognitive dissonance between the visceral seriousness of the crime and the abject flippancy of the shooter, the brutality of the shooting and the memes reacting to Kirk’s bigoted views.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2025
In all seriousness, the Instagram tantrum had nothing to do with the lawsuit, but something else entirely.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
People tend to underestimate the impact and seriousness of non-melanoma cancers.
—New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2025
Slater has met Bersten’s family Bersten revealed the seriousness of his relationship with Slater in a July 2025 Instagram post.
—Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
The Rac put out a midafternoon statement acknowledging the seriousness of the shooting.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Police officials quickly confirmed the seriousness of the threat.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
The detectives went and wrote a criminal complaint, charging Ruth with stalking and loitering and prowling at night, misdemeanors that did not reflect the seriousness, or danger, of the situation, and got a warrant for his arrest.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
We’ve all been cast adrift in the cognitive dissonance between the visceral seriousness of the crime and the abject flippancy of the shooter, the brutality of the shooting and the memes reacting to Kirk’s bigoted views.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2025
In all seriousness, the Instagram tantrum had nothing to do with the lawsuit, but something else entirely.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
People tend to underestimate the impact and seriousness of non-melanoma cancers.
—New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2025
Slater has met Bersten’s family Bersten revealed the seriousness of his relationship with Slater in a July 2025 Instagram post.
—Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for seriousness
Noun
-
In vacuum and one-sixth gravity, lubricants boil off, moving parts behave differently, and remote or autonomous operation is necessary because of the time delay between Earth and Moon, which makes real-time teleoperation impractical.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Best Early Amazon Prime Day STEM Toy Deals Encourage early learning with age-appropriate STEM toys, like a marble run that helps kids learn about gravity and other basic physics principles.—
Anja Webb,
Parents,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
When there is a buck to be made, a rapidly emerging necessity can be met with ardent earnestness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
For the Television Academy to recognize Hiller’s role in this show seems like a vote not just for a moving and intuitive performance, but also for earnestness.—
Paula Mejía,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There are dozens of little moments of quiet kindness and profound mourning, of gentle reflection and solemnity, of nature reaching out to Atsu, and by proxy, the player.—
Alyssa Mercante,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Any solemnity that might be engendered by the president accompanied by an official entourage to his private residence near the Spanish Steps is amusingly offset by the robot law enforcement dog leading the way.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Seriousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/seriousness. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share