SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
grave
adjective
Serious, solemn, or deserving careful concern.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Serious or solemn
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topA grave expression is solemn; a grave problem is serious and may carry harmful consequences.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See grave in use
Her grave expression signaled that the discussion required everyone's attention.
The loss presents a grave problem because some entries survive in no other copy.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license