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Dour vs Serious - What's the difference?

dour | serious |

As adjectives the difference between dour and serious

is that dour is stern, harsh and forbidding while serious is without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn.

dour

English

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • Stern, harsh and forbidding.
  • Unyielding and obstinate.
  • Expressing gloom or melancholy; sullenly unhappy.

    • Synonyms

    * forbidding, harsh, severe, stern * (unyielding) obstinate, stubborn, unyielding * (expressing gloom) dejected, gloomy, melancholic, sullen

    Derived terms

    * dourly * dourness

    serious

    English

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn.
    • It was a surprise to see the captain, who had always seemed so serious , laugh so heartily.
  • Important; weighty; not trifling; leaving no room for play; needing great attention; critical.
    • This is a serious problem. We'll need our best experts.
  • Really intending what is said; being in earnest; not jesting or deceiving; meaningful.
    • After all these years, we're finally getting serious attention.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Antonyms

    * trifling, unimportant * (intending what is said) jesting

    Derived terms

    * srs (abbreviation) * dead serious * seriously * seriousness * serious-minded * serious-mindedly * serious-mindedness

    External links

    * *

    Statistics

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