gravitas

After heading a commission to select candidates to be George W. Bush’s running mate, Cheney selected himself, which commentators noted lent gravitas to the Texas governor, who lacked experience on the national and international levels.

He brought to the ticket an element of maturity and Washington gravitas that the inexperienced Bush did not possess.

By contrast, Ms. Lloyd brings a weighty, wary gravitas to Celeste, the group’s only black member, who often radiates a mild prickliness.

Vast palaces loom over landscapes in Riyadh, Oman and Malaysia, but the scale and grandeur of the buildings doesn’t confer on those nations any gravitas or greatness.

Commissioner Adam Silver was an early proponent of legalized gambling, and it was his gravitas that nudged other sports to come along.