Egregious vs Serious - What's the difference?
egregious | serious |
Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.
* 16thC , ,
* c1605 , , Act 2, Scene 3,
* 22 March 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]
* '>citation
Outrageously bad; shocking.
Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn.
Important; weighty; not trifling; leaving no room for play; needing great attention; critical.
Really intending what is said; being in earnest; not jesting or deceiving; meaningful.
As adjectives the difference between egregious and serious
is that egregious is exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion while serious is without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn.egregious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The student has made egregious errors on the examination.
- I cannot cross my arms, or sigh "Ah me," / "Ah me forlorn!" egregious foppery! / I cannot buss thy fill, play with thy hair, / Swearing by Jove, "Thou art most debonnaire!"
- My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.
- When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious .
Usage notes
The negative meaning arose in the late 16th century, probably originating in sarcasm. Before that, it meant outstanding in a good way. Webster also gives “distinguished” as an archaic form, and notes that its present form often has an unpleasant connotation (e.g., "an egregious error" ). It generally precedes such epithets as “rogue,” “rascal,” "ass," “blunderer”.serious
English
Adjective
(en-adj)- It was a surprise to see the captain, who had always seemed so serious , laugh so heartily.
- This is a serious problem. We'll need our best experts.
- After all these years, we're finally getting serious attention.