serious implies a concern for what really matters.
a serious play about social injustice
grave implies both seriousness and dignity in expression or attitude.
read the proclamation in a grave voice
solemn suggests an impressive gravity utterly free from levity.
a sad and solemn occasion
sedate implies a composed and decorous seriousness.
remained sedate amid the commotion
staid suggests a settled, accustomed sedateness and prim self-restraint.
a quiet and staid community
sober stresses seriousness of purpose and absence of levity or frivolity.
a sober look at the state of our schools
earnest suggests sincerity or often zealousness of purpose.
an earnest reformer
Examples of sedate in a Sentence
Adjective
We walked the beach at a sedate pace.
He remained sedate under pressure. Verb
The doctor sedated the patient heavily.
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Adjective
Miami International Mall opened in a sedate unincorporated western Miami-Dade neighborhood in August 1982.—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2025 In person, Wood is funny but sedate, speaking in a deadpan carried along by a prankish undercurrent.—Ismail Muhammad, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Verb
To reduce discomfort during these procedures, you will be sedated or under general anesthesia.—Lindsay Curtis, Health, 16 Feb. 2025 One man, who was a wheelchair user, was heavily sedated and taken across the U.S.-Mexico border, and was later found dead in a hotel in Mexico City, per NBC News and the AP.—Bailey Richards, People.com, 22 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sedate
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Latin sedatus, from past participle of sedare to calm; akin to sedēre to sit — more at sit
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