gravest

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.

The country successfully pushed for a UN resolution in March, which recognised the enslavement of Africans as the "gravest crime against humanity".

From BBC • May 27, 2026

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

From Slate • May 10, 2026

TOKYO—One of the major surprises about the gravest energy shock since the 1970s is how resilient much of the world has been so far.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

Australian prime ministers typically reserve an address to the nation for only the gravest of circumstances.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The steep decline of these numbers over the centuries suggests that, for one of the gravest human concerns—getting murdered—- the incentives that we collectively cook up are working better and better.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt