Collocations for serious - adj.
1. bad/dangerous
VERBS
be,
look,
seem,
sound
become, get
By this time the riots were getting serious.
become, get
By this time the riots were getting serious.
remain
ADVERB
extremely,
fairly,
very,
etc.
particularly, really, terribly
These are terribly serious allegations.
particularly, really, terribly
These are terribly serious allegations.
potentially
PHRASES
nothing serious
‘Bob's sick.’ ‘Oh, I hope it's nothing serious.’
‘Bob's sick.’ ‘Oh, I hope it's nothing serious.’
serious enough to warrant sth
The crime is considered serious enough to warrant a jail term.
The crime is considered serious enough to warrant a jail term.
2. not joking
VERBS
be,
look,
sound
Come on, be serious!
Come on, be serious!
become,
grow,
turn
He became serious all of a sudden.
He became serious all of a sudden.
remain,
stay
Please try to stay serious!
Please try to stay serious!
ADVERB
extremely,
fairly,
very,
etc.
absolutely, completely, entirely, perfectly, quite, totally
deadly, terribly
Joe is deadly serious in his beliefs.
absolutely, completely, entirely, perfectly, quite, totally
deadly, terribly
Joe is deadly serious in his beliefs.
Serious is used with these nouns:
accident, accusation, actor, actress, ailment, allegation, allergy, alternative, analysis, answer, artist, assault, attack, attempt, attention, attitude, bid, blow, blunder, bout, boyfriend, breach, breakdown, burn, business, case, casualty, challenge, challenger, charge, clash, collector, collision, commitment, competition, competitor, complaint, complication, concern, concussion, condition, conflict, confrontation, congestion, consequence, consideration, contamination, contemplation, contender, conversation, corruption, crack, crash, crime, criminal, crisis, criticism, damage, danger, debate, debt, decline, defeat, defect, deficiency, deficit, delay, dent, depression, deterioration, dialogue, difference, difficulty, dilemma, disability, disadvantage, disagreement, disappointment, discrepancy, discussion, disease, disorder, dispute, disruption, dissent, distortion, disturbance, doubt, downturn, drain, drawback, effect, effort, embarrassment, emergency, engagement, enquiry, erosion, error, escalation, expression, face, failing, failure, fashion, fault, felony, fiction, fighting, fire, flaw, foul play, fraud, gap, girlfriend, handicap, harm, hazard, heart attack, hindrance, historian, illness, imbalance, impact, impediment, implication, incident, inconsistency, inconvenience, indigestion, indiscretion, infection, infringement, injury, interest, irregularity, issue, lack, lapse, leak, limitation, look, loss, matter, menace, message, miscalculation, misconduct, misgivings, mishap, mistake, misunderstanding, misuse, mood, move, music, musician, need, neglect, negotiation, note, objection, obstacle, offence, omission, opposition, outbreak, overtone, peril, pest, possibility, prejudice, problem, quarrel, question, reading, recession, reflection, relationship, repercussion, reservation, resistance, responsibility, rethink, reverse, revolt, rift, riot, risk, rival, row, scientist, scrutiny, setback, shopper, shopping, shortage, shortcoming, side effect, situation, split, strait, stroke, study, subject, symptom, talk, test, thinker, thinking, thought, threat, tone, training, trouble, underestimate, undertaking, unrest, violation, violence, voice, weakness, worry, wound, writer
accident, accusation, actor, actress, ailment, allegation, allergy, alternative, analysis, answer, artist, assault, attack, attempt, attention, attitude, bid, blow, blunder, bout, boyfriend, breach, breakdown, burn, business, case, casualty, challenge, challenger, charge, clash, collector, collision, commitment, competition, competitor, complaint, complication, concern, concussion, condition, conflict, confrontation, congestion, consequence, consideration, contamination, contemplation, contender, conversation, corruption, crack, crash, crime, criminal, crisis, criticism, damage, danger, debate, debt, decline, defeat, defect, deficiency, deficit, delay, dent, depression, deterioration, dialogue, difference, difficulty, dilemma, disability, disadvantage, disagreement, disappointment, discrepancy, discussion, disease, disorder, dispute, disruption, dissent, distortion, disturbance, doubt, downturn, drain, drawback, effect, effort, embarrassment, emergency, engagement, enquiry, erosion, error, escalation, expression, face, failing, failure, fashion, fault, felony, fiction, fighting, fire, flaw, foul play, fraud, gap, girlfriend, handicap, harm, hazard, heart attack, hindrance, historian, illness, imbalance, impact, impediment, implication, incident, inconsistency, inconvenience, indigestion, indiscretion, infection, infringement, injury, interest, irregularity, issue, lack, lapse, leak, limitation, look, loss, matter, menace, message, miscalculation, misconduct, misgivings, mishap, mistake, misunderstanding, misuse, mood, move, music, musician, need, neglect, negotiation, note, objection, obstacle, offence, omission, opposition, outbreak, overtone, peril, pest, possibility, prejudice, problem, quarrel, question, reading, recession, reflection, relationship, repercussion, reservation, resistance, responsibility, rethink, reverse, revolt, rift, riot, risk, rival, row, scientist, scrutiny, setback, shopper, shopping, shortage, shortcoming, side effect, situation, split, strait, stroke, study, subject, symptom, talk, test, thinker, thinking, thought, threat, tone, training, trouble, underestimate, undertaking, unrest, violation, violence, voice, weakness, worry, wound, writer