gravest

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serious; gloomy adj.
crucial, dangerous adj.

ADJECTIVE

serious; gloomy

Synonyms

STRONG

dignified dull earnest heavy muted quiet sage sedate sober subdued

WEAK

cold sober deadpan dour grim grim-faced leaden long-faced meaningful no-nonsense ponderous sad saturnine solemn somber staid strictly business thoughtful unsmiling

Antonyms

STRONG

agitated boisterous excited light lively trivial unimportant

WEAK

cheerful frivolous funny happy inconsequential ridiculous silly

ADJECTIVE

crucial, dangerous

Synonyms

STRONG

acute fell heavy killing major pressing threatening

WEAK

afflictive consequential critical deadly destructive dire exigent fatal grievous hazardous important life-and-death momentous of great consequence ominous perilous serious severe significant ugly urgent vital weighty

Antonyms

STRONG

insignificant little small trivial unimportant

WEAK

cheerful frivolous funny happy inconsequential ridiculous silly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

gravest

Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

“But it’s shifting what he represents in death: from a repressive figure many wanted gone, to the architect of a strategy that, in the end, kept the country intact against its gravest modern threat.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Alicia Keys fills the CRV that drives me past MacArthur Park, site of my gravest parenting anxieties.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority, a threshold so high that Congress has wielded the sanction only in the gravest cases, removing just six members in its 237-year history.

From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026

Because I had rid her heart of its gravest malady.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini