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e; to stimulate affection or interest; to play the coquette; to deal playfully instead of seriously; to play (with); as, we have coquetted with political crime.

service or use; to disable; to deprive of resources; as, to be financially crippled. More serious embarrassments . . . were crippling the energy of the settlement in the Bay. Palfrey. An incumbrance which would permanently cripple the body politic. Macaulay.

To bring great evil upon; to be the cause of serious harm or unhappiness to; to furnish with that which will be a cause of deep trouble; to afflict or injure grievously; to harass or torment. On impious realms and barbarous kings impose Thy plagues, and curse 'em with such sons as those. Pope. To curse by bell, book, a…

Controversy; deliberation; debate. [R.] A serious question and debatement with myself. Milton.

An accidental blowing off of, or other serious damage to, the breechblock of a gun; also, a removal of the breechblock for the purpose of disabling the gun.

Of sober or serious mien; composed and decorous in bearing; of modest look; staid; grave. Sober, steadfast, and demure. Milton. Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes. W. Black.

uction; tending to bring about ruin, death, or devastation; ruinous; fatal; productive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with of or to; as, intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth. Time's destructive power. Wordsworth. Destructive distillation. See Di…

n adverse or unfortunate event, esp. a sudden and extraordinary misfortune; a calamity; a serious mishap. But noble souls, through dust and heat, Rise from disaster and defeat The stronger. Longfellow.

up of a business; speedy performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence; haste. Serious business, craving quick dispatch. Shak. To carry his scythe . . . with a sufficient dispatch through a sufficient space. Paley.

To administer a stimulant to (a horse) to increase his speed. It is a serious offense against the laws of racing. [Race-track Slang]

Seriousness; reality; fixed determination; eagerness; intentness. Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest. Sir P. Sidney. And given in earnest what I begged in jest. Shak. In earnest, serious; seriously; not in jest; earnestly.

Serious. [Obs.] Chaucer.

employ one's energies. This is a day in which the thoughts . . . ought to be employed on serious subjects. Addison.

A figure by which permission is either seriously or ironically granted to some one, to do what he proposes to do; e. g., "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still."

Serious. [Obs.] Chaucer.

To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for. Think ye that we excuse ourselves to you 2 Cor. xii. 19.

Capability of being exhausted. I was seriously tormented by the thought of the exhaustibility of musical combinations. J. S. Mill.

l failing; a defect or dereliction from duty; a deviation from propriety; an offense less serious than a crime.

A falsehood; a lie; -- used euphemistically. They are very serious; they don't tell fibs. H. James.

frivolous; -- of people. serious Syn. -- flighty. [WordNet 1.5]