seriously

adv

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Italic *sēros Latin sērus Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius ? Proto-Indo-European *swer- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *swerjos? Latin sērius Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ōtsos or *-otsos Latin -ōsus Medieval Latin sēriōsus Old French serieuxbor. Middle English seryows Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -lech, -ly Middle English seryowslech English seriously From Middle English seriously, sereously, ceryously, seryowslech (“earnestly”), equivalent to serious + -ly.

1. In a serious or literal manner.

   “He was hoping that we would take him seriously.”

   “Jimmy jokingly called Bob a doofus. Bob took the insult seriously.”

2. Gravely; deeply; very much.

   “That was a seriously unpleasant thing to say.”

3. Used to attempt to introduce a serious point in a less serious conversation.

   “Now, seriously, why did you forget to feed the cat today?”

4. Used to call back to a previous point, in disbelief or for emphasis.

   “You baked ten (10) cakes. Seriously, why did you do that?”

5. In an extreme or major way; majorly.

   “Unless you're seriously strapped (armed), you're about to be not okay too.”