as in earnest
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Recent Examples of serious-minded
These ads — presented as teasers, TV spots, and a theatrical trailer that seemed to begin as a very serious-minded tribute to Disney’s great history — served as a delightful introduction to a character that would grow to become one of the studio’s most popular.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 May 2025
In 2025, Final Reckoning is exactly the kind of splashy crowd-pleaser that the festival seeks out to both offset and complement its otherwise fairly serious-minded slate of films from all over the world.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 May 2025
Rather than strain to add an arthouse veneer (or the climactic reveal of an animating trauma), Coogler offers a true synthesis between serious-minded fiction and B-movie camp.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025
This is funny; Misty, a serious-minded statistician, can’t admit to frivolity.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
However, the deeper malaise will take some serious-minded action.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
The banter between Hedges and Scherzer lightened a serious-minded Rangers’ clubhouse.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Who’s to say that a serious-minded semi-Marxist critique of economic desperation and the rise of fascism in the Star Wars universe is somehow harder than transplanting the 1980s Amblin sensibility to the same universe?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
Molina, a gay hairdresser convicted of public indecency during Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship, has been sent to the political wing of a prison and put in the same cell as Valentin Arregui (a solid, if unremarkable Diego Luna), an intense and serious-minded Marxist revolutionary.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 May 2025
In 2025, Final Reckoning is exactly the kind of splashy crowd-pleaser that the festival seeks out to both offset and complement its otherwise fairly serious-minded slate of films from all over the world.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 May 2025
Rather than strain to add an arthouse veneer (or the climactic reveal of an animating trauma), Coogler offers a true synthesis between serious-minded fiction and B-movie camp.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025
This is funny; Misty, a serious-minded statistician, can’t admit to frivolity.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
However, the deeper malaise will take some serious-minded action.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
The banter between Hedges and Scherzer lightened a serious-minded Rangers’ clubhouse.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Who’s to say that a serious-minded semi-Marxist critique of economic desperation and the rise of fascism in the Star Wars universe is somehow harder than transplanting the 1980s Amblin sensibility to the same universe?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
Molina, a gay hairdresser convicted of public indecency during Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship, has been sent to the political wing of a prison and put in the same cell as Valentin Arregui (a solid, if unremarkable Diego Luna), an intense and serious-minded Marxist revolutionary.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serious-minded
Adjective
-
Her brand is too earnest to accommodate irony or camp.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
-
The problem is that Flanagan—known for eerie but subtle horror films like Hush and Oculus and Netflix series like Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House—puts too many overly earnest quotation marks around what should be the most moving scenes.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
Nobody else can do what Isak does, but Newcastle lack serious backup at centre-forward.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
6 June 2025
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There were no serious injuries reported or arrests made among the crowd of about 500 teenagers.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
Antonia Gentry Gentry, who portrays Georgia's introspective teenage daughter Ginny, is currently single.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
5 June 2025
-
While the show’s first season rearranged brains with Fielder’s increasingly introspective attempt to help a woman rehearse for motherhood, Season 2 has focused on the creator’s own, weirdly timely obsession with aviation safety.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
The incident caused a somber scene near home plate, as Yankees teammates, coaches and personnel huddled around the always-affable 26-year-old before an ambulance took him off the field and to a nearby hospital.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
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The somber financial picture leaves the city caught between cutting services to the public and finding a way to raise money.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
Only the buzz of Israeli drones overhead filled the solemn silence.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
7 June 2025
-
The score becomes grand and syrupy whenever there’s a big emotional revelation; characters deliver solemn soliloquies on the orderly beauty of math.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Case for Self-Custody Atkins' remarks reflect a growing recognition that self-custody isn’t just a technical preference, but a philosophical choice.—
Becca Bratcher,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
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Today, they’re considered all-time greats, geniuses of melody and tension and originators of the diffident, philosophical mode that came to dominate American guitar rock in the new century.—
Armin Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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His willpower and determination has warded off advancing age and a T20 belligerent game that was becoming the antithesis of his technical expertise honed from a more sedate era.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Ditto Mason Graham, who bucked the prevailing choice, Rolex, and instead selected an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in stainless steel with a sedate black dial.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Serious-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serious-minded. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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