as in earnest
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Recent Examples of serious-minded
Despite decades of asking them in online forums, on social media and to search engines, humans still seem to have an infinite supply of these less-than-serious-minded queries.
—
Heather Kelly,
Washington Post,
6 Feb. 2026
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.
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Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 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.
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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
Heather Kelly,
Washington Post,
6 Feb. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serious-minded
Adjective
-
Perhaps because of this aesthetic of illusions, the earnest state pride evident in some of the pavilions turns out to feel especially delightful.
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His power in the Senate atop the chamber’s health committee and bipartisan respect as an earnest lawmaker proved inadequate to overcome his impeachment vote and Trump’s influence among Louisiana Republican voters.
Adjective
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What Research Shows About Cancer in Dogs While there is no evidence that turkey tail shrinks tumors, the mushroom has drawn real scientific interest as a complementary therapy for serious illness.
-
The new guidance was heavily criticized by health groups, which argued the decision could sow confusion and leave children vulnerable to serious disease.
Adjective
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Most of them end before David’s verse, which Rayan describes as an unusually introspective account of her life as a superstar.
-
Simón’s new film — introspective, often visually breath-stopping, and lensed with glittering coastal beauty by cinematographer Hélène Louvart — premiered at Cannes 2025 in competition, went on to play at myriad festivals, and is only now opening in the United States from Janus Films.
Adjective
-
The film breathes in a dynamic way, the last few beats taking a startling turn toward a somber wistfulness.
-
The hilltop De Smet Cemetery strikes a somber note.
Adjective
-
My wish also is that soloists cease all their vocal theatrics, which only distort and cheapen the solemn rendition of our anthem.
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The solemn observance honored the victims, survivors and first responders involved in the unprecedented search and recovery effort.
Adjective
-
This raises a question that sounds philosophical but is becoming increasingly practical.
-
The three men’s alignment on that philosophical premise means that Víg’s scores rarely require lengthy revision rounds.
Adjective
-
But the book’s ruminative watchfulness is unsuccessfully conjugated in this overly sedate play with music, which has the feel of a song cycle, though sung by the fine cast with gorgeous, lonely sorrow.
-
The underlying songwriting is impulsive, but many tracks adopt a deliberately sedate mood or sort through dense clusters of cut-up loops, and Alfa’s spatialization gives the album a pallor that can resemble brain fog.
Cite this Entry
“Serious-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serious-minded. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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