as in earnest
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Recent Examples of serious-minded
Despite decades of asking them in online forums, on social media and to search engines, humans still seem to have an infinite supply of these less-than-serious-minded queries.
—
Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
The number of places in the world where someone can earn a living making serious-minded fine art has shrunk drastically—now the number of places where people go to prison for rigorous creative action is rising at an alarming speed.
—Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
Consider the career arc of Lane Monte Kiffin, son of esteemed and very serious-minded defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
But a bigger problem is that his earnest, hard-working performance can’t help but utilize the same tools now familiar from much less serious-minded contexts.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Gore then spent eight years earning a reputation as a smart, serious-minded governing partner to Clinton.
—Time, 3 Nov. 2025
Shane Hollander, the serious-minded captain of the Montreal Meteors, and star and playboy Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Bears are played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
In this more serious-minded (and Madea-free) movie from Perry, Idris Elba plays Monty, a hard-working father who loses custody of his daughters to his drug-addled wife (Tasha Smith).
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
Still, this is an admirably serious-minded attempt to go inside a troubled community that most of us would go out of our way to avoid — showing compassion for a struggle that can frequently be one step forward, two steps back.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2026
The number of places in the world where someone can earn a living making serious-minded fine art has shrunk drastically—now the number of places where people go to prison for rigorous creative action is rising at an alarming speed.
—Diedrich Diederichsen, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
Consider the career arc of Lane Monte Kiffin, son of esteemed and very serious-minded defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
But a bigger problem is that his earnest, hard-working performance can’t help but utilize the same tools now familiar from much less serious-minded contexts.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Gore then spent eight years earning a reputation as a smart, serious-minded governing partner to Clinton.
—Time, 3 Nov. 2025
Shane Hollander, the serious-minded captain of the Montreal Meteors, and star and playboy Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Bears are played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, respectively.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
In this more serious-minded (and Madea-free) movie from Perry, Idris Elba plays Monty, a hard-working father who loses custody of his daughters to his drug-addled wife (Tasha Smith).
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
Still, this is an admirably serious-minded attempt to go inside a troubled community that most of us would go out of our way to avoid — showing compassion for a struggle that can frequently be one step forward, two steps back.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serious-minded
Adjective
-
Newly renovated, The Talbott Hotel has an earnest and inviting residential feel that is unique to the city.—
Wendy Altschuler,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
-
Williams described the moment the effort began in earnest as a swift pivot from excitement to alarm.—
Kevin Strong,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
My office will continue to vigorously prosecute defendants who pose serious threats to our community’s safety, especially our children.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2026
-
In a touching tribute, Saliba ran over to the sideline after scoring and held up the jersey of Ismaël Koné, the teammate who left the field on a stretcher minutes earlier after suffering what looked to be a serious leg injury.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
On June 10, the Strictly Confidential star celebrated her 61st birthday in an introspective Instagram post featuring a photo of herself in a yellow bikini.—
Chanel Vargas,
InStyle,
13 June 2026
-
Still, Galentz’s paintings maintained a similarly radiant, yet elusive and introspective quality, with more formal risks than, say, overt political dissent.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The feeling inside the house is quiet and somber.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
-
Typical of Vandenberg weather, a marine layer of low clouds and fog added a somber look to the scene.—
Robert Pearlman,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
To be fair, abducted 9-year-old Rainy is pretty cute, with solemn eyebrows and a conscience that continually puts her in peril.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
The once-rising developer’s solemn promise is not likely to be fulfilled if court records in his federal criminal case and a parallel Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit are any indication.—
Jay Weaver
June 6,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
While there is the philosophical angle of taking the good with the bad, Allen notes that kids can get to the latter awfully easily.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
-
Don Hertzfeldt occasionally comes to mind for a similarly pervasive mood of questioning, philosophical melancholy.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The underlying songwriting is impulsive, but many tracks adopt a deliberately sedate mood or sort through dense clusters of cut-up loops, and Alfa’s spatialization gives the album a pallor that can resemble brain fog.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
16 June 2026
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Compared to some of the spectacles that had played out across New York City for the past two weeks, this was a sedate party.—
Chris Smith,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Serious-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serious-minded. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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