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er or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn; not light, gay, or volatile. He is always serious, yet there is about his manner a graceful ease. Macaulay.

Mingling mirth and seriousness. M. Green.

the mind, or consideration; to receive; to take; as, they were into his house; to admit a serious thought into the mind; to admit evidence in the trial of a cause.

To warn or notify of a fault; to reprove gently or kindly, but seriously; to exhort. "Admonish him as a brother." 2 Thess. iii. 15.

To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious; -- with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough. The merchant can afford to trade for smaller profits. Hamilton. He could afford to suffer With those whom he saw suffer. Wordswor…

A secondary mask, or grotesque interlude, between the parts of a serious mask. [Written also anue.] Bacon.

Look, or particular appearance of the face; countenance; mien; air. "Serious in aspect." Dryden. [Craggs] with aspect open shall erect his head. Pope.

ting the truth. It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case. Fielding. Then all averred I had killed the bird. Coleridge.

unskillfully; imperfectly; unfortunately; grievously; so as to cause harm; disagreeably; seriously.

A trifle; a thing of no importance. Rich trifles, serious bagatelles. Prior.

nuously or moodily on a subject; to think long and anxiously; to be in a state of gloomy, serious thought; -- usually followed by over or on; as, to brood over misfortunes. Brooding on unprofitable gold. Dryden. Brooding over all these matters, the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit. Hawthorne. When with down…

a strong kind of proter or malt liquor. -- Brown study, a state of mental abstraction or serious reverie. W. Irving.

o or should do; special service, duty, or mission. The daughter of the King of France, On serious business, craving quick despatch, Importunes personal conference. Shak. What business has the tortoise among the clouds L'Estrange.

some business; hard at work (either habitually or only for the time being); occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant. Sir, my mistress sends you word THat she is busy, and she can not come. Shak.

A hydrous phosphate of iron occurring in yellow radiated tufts. The phosphorus seriously injures it as an iron ore.

n inclosure; a boundary; a limit. [Obs.] A prison is but a retirement, and opportunity of serious thoughts, to a person whose spirit . . . desires no enlargement beyond the cancels of the body. Jer. Taylor.

Manner of acting; behavior; bearing. A graceful comportment of their bodies. Cowley. Her serious and devout comportment. Addison.

The act of consulting together formally; serious conversation or discussion; interchange of views. Nor with such free and friendly conference As he hath used of old. Shak.

Serious injunction; solemn demand or entreaty. [Obs.] Milton.

To think seriously; to make examination; to reflect; to deliberate. We will consider of your suit. Shak. 'T were to consider too curiously, to consider so. Shak. She wished she had taken a moment to consider, before rushing down stairs. W. Black