serious
/ˈsɪə̯.ɹi.əs/adjective, adverb
serious is spelled S-E-R-I-O-U-S: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 126 times per million words in written English, the 831st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, serious means “Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in serious?
| Letters | 7: S-E-R-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 126 times per million words; the 831st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is serious?
Serious appears 126 times per million words in written English, the 831st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce serious?
- UK /ˈsɪə̯.ɹi.əs/
- UK /ˈsɪː.ɹi.əs/
- /ˈsɪɹ.i.əs/
Serious has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-serious.wav, En-us-serious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with serious
Sounds like: Sirius (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with serious?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as serious from its last stressed vowel (/ɪəɹiəs/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of serious
- more serious comparative
- most serious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does serious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition.
deadly serious
- 2
Important; weighty; not insignificant.
This is a serious problem. We'll need our best experts.
- 3
Really intending what is said (or planned, etc); in earnest; not jocular or deceiving.
After all these years, we're finally getting serious attention.
- 4
Committed.
adverb
- 1
colloquialseriously, in a serious manner (most often heard in take or mean serious)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate serious?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of serious: srs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Serious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sérieux |
| German | ernst, seriös , ernsthaft, schwerwiegend, ernst zu nehmend |
| Portuguese | sério |
| Spanish | serio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.