Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Serious for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Serious" — adjective, pronounced /ˈsɪəriəs/, with the stress on "se".
Narrator: Serious means important, dangerous or needing careful thought, or not joking.
Narrator: In plain English, serious means important, or not joking.
Narrator: It comes from Latin serius, grave.
Narrator: A common collocation is "serious injury", which describes dangerous harm.
Narrator: It differs from "severe", because severe stresses intensity, while serious stresses importance.
Narrator: In a second sense, "are you serious?" means are you really not joking.
Narrator: Medicine, law, business and everyday speech all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: serious means it matters.
Speaker A: Are you really quitting your job?
Speaker B: I'm SERIOUS! From Latin serius, grave.
Speaker A: Not joking?
Speaker B: Moving to Spain.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "A serious accident closed the road", news. "She's serious about music", ambition. "Let's have a serious talk", relationships.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Spell it "serious", with "-ious", not "serius".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Grave is its cousin, earnest its twin, and solemn an alternative — yet serious keeps its steady charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "serious" in AI prompts — useful for bug triage and tone control.
Speaker A: How for bugs?
Speaker B: Prioritise.
Prompt: Rank these bug reports from most serious to least with reasons.
Speaker A: And tone?
Speaker B: Adjust.
Prompt: Rewrite this playful announcement in a serious tone for a safety notice.
Speaker A: Could it help health?
Speaker B: Yes, for triage.
Prompt: List symptoms that suggest a serious problem needing emergency care.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Moderation.
Prompt: Flag comments that make serious threats for urgent review.
Serious — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary