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
After the war, that technology, developed by a painfully pretentious guru named Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), was sold to the public as a way of keeping them sedated and immersed in imaginary worlds.—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025 In a Reddit post, the woman recounted the terrifying situation that unfolded after a dental procedure in which she was sedated.—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 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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