✅ Being serious implies having depth and a soberness of attitude (He wanted to be a serious artist).
✅ Earnest is the best word when there is a purpose you are pursuing in a levelheaded and sincere manner (My neighbors have made an earnest effort to compost).
✅ Unlike earnest, sometimes serious can be used informally to mean something is intense or extreme in a good way (He earned some serious cash).
If you are serious about learning synonyms, here are some more!
✅ A town is a populated area, usually smaller than a city, often with fixed boundaries and certain local powers of government (I grew up in a small town in New Jersey).
✅ You might call a town a community to emphasize a sense of togetherness among the people who live in the same area (The firefighters work hard to serve our community).
✅ A community, however, does not necessarily have to share a locality. The word more often implies a shared identity, culture, or heritage (a community of scholars; the Muslim community).
✅ Argument can mean a contentious disagreement or a debate. Either way, it involves a back-and-forth exchange of differing points of view (She had an ongoing argument with her father about the merits of Game of Thrones).
✅ Dispute more broadly refers to a conflict. If it does refer to an argument, it’s usually one that’s brief, heated, or undignified (He was always resolving property line disputes among his neighbors).
✅ While an argument is typically between two persons, a dispute can involve two or more parties (labor disputes; border disputes).
There’s no argument, though, that Grammar Coach can help with your writing!