solemn
adjective
sol·emn ˈsä-ləm 
1
: marked by the invocation of a religious sanction
a solemn oath
2
: marked by the observance of established form or ceremony
specifically : celebrated with full liturgical ceremony
3
a
: awe-inspiring : sublime
solemn beauty
b
: marked by grave sedateness and earnest sobriety
a solemn gathering
c
: somber, gloomy
a solemn gray building
solemnly adverb
solemnness noun
Synonyms
- august
- dignified
- distingué
- distinguished
- imposing
- portly
- staid
- stately
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The women running the office where I was given immunizations and completed more paperwork said they had a young friend back in the District who would love my British accent. They were going to call her this very instant, they teased, and then I'd have a companion for the evening. They also talked in more solemn tones about all the brave men and women who came through the base and then shipped off to Iraq. 
Willem Marx, Harper's, September 2006 Caesar was slaughtered in a sanctified space, his body was sacrosanct since he held the position of supreme pontiff, and his assassins had recently taken a solemn oath to protect his life with their own. Yet none of this seems to have figured prominently in the charges that were laid against his killers. Robert Garland, History Today, February 2004 The testimony may well have had serious judicial consequences, even lethal ones, but its style is so glum and flat-footed that it gives an impression not of solemn majesty but of grotesque comedy … Jonathan Ree, Times Literary Supplement, 13 Aug. 2004 To the vast majority of people in this Muslim nation of 145 million, Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, not war and hatred. It requires that women dress modestly, but not make themselves invisible. Its mosques are solemn and silent, but its shrines are relaxed and colorful. Its liturgy says Islam should be spread by persuasion, not by force … Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2001 He spoke in a solemn and thoughtful manner. He wore a very solemn expression on his face. He recited the poem in a solemn voice. A solemn crowd gathered around the grave. We made a solemn promise to love each other forever. See More
Willem Marx, Harper's, September 2006 Caesar was slaughtered in a sanctified space, his body was sacrosanct since he held the position of supreme pontiff, and his assassins had recently taken a solemn oath to protect his life with their own. Yet none of this seems to have figured prominently in the charges that were laid against his killers. Robert Garland, History Today, February 2004 The testimony may well have had serious judicial consequences, even lethal ones, but its style is so glum and flat-footed that it gives an impression not of solemn majesty but of grotesque comedy … Jonathan Ree, Times Literary Supplement, 13 Aug. 2004 To the vast majority of people in this Muslim nation of 145 million, Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, not war and hatred. It requires that women dress modestly, but not make themselves invisible. Its mosques are solemn and silent, but its shrines are relaxed and colorful. Its liturgy says Islam should be spread by persuasion, not by force … Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2001 He spoke in a solemn and thoughtful manner. He wore a very solemn expression on his face. He recited the poem in a solemn voice. A solemn crowd gathered around the grave. We made a solemn promise to love each other forever. See More Recent Examples on the Web The death of Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled for more than 70 years, plunged the United Kingdom into mourning and 10 days of solemn ceremony. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2022 In a flat, Ángeles keeps solemn company with her despair. John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Sep. 2022 At his funeral on Monday, there will be tributes and tears, solemn salutes, and the mournful sound of a bugler playing Taps. Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2022 As the United Kingdom marks ten days of solemn ceremony here, the U.S. is also marking the 21st anniversary of the September 11th attacks today. ABC News, 11 Sep. 2022 The exchange between them is cold and solemn, suggesting Ellis has only the smallest chance ever to win back her favor. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 In the silence of the solemn drive, Jackie Barden turned to her husband. Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 28 May 2022 Wearier and more solemn than Eastwood's previous western work, Unforgiven reflects on many of the American myths the western genre first perpetuated. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 23 May 2022 The second movement, processional and severe, is a pavane, not a dirge; this music needs motion, and Bach Collegium imbued this most famous of the symphony’s movements with a sense of solemn dance lost at a slower tempo. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 See More
Patrick Smith, NBC News, 19 Sep. 2022 In a flat, Ángeles keeps solemn company with her despair. John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Sep. 2022 At his funeral on Monday, there will be tributes and tears, solemn salutes, and the mournful sound of a bugler playing Taps. Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2022 As the United Kingdom marks ten days of solemn ceremony here, the U.S. is also marking the 21st anniversary of the September 11th attacks today. ABC News, 11 Sep. 2022 The exchange between them is cold and solemn, suggesting Ellis has only the smallest chance ever to win back her favor. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 In the silence of the solemn drive, Jackie Barden turned to her husband. Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 28 May 2022 Wearier and more solemn than Eastwood's previous western work, Unforgiven reflects on many of the American myths the western genre first perpetuated. Josh St. Clair, Men's Health, 23 May 2022 The second movement, processional and severe, is a pavane, not a dirge; this music needs motion, and Bach Collegium imbued this most famous of the symphony’s movements with a sense of solemn dance lost at a slower tempo. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English solempne, from Anglo-French, from Latin sollemnis regularly appointed, solemn
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing solemn
Kids Definition
solemn
adjective
sol·emn ˈsä-ləm
1
: very serious or formal in manner, behavior, or expression
a solemn procession
a solemn face
2
: done or made seriously and thoughtfully
a solemn promise
solemn
adjective
1
as in imposing
having or showing a formal and serious or reserved manner the director of the funeral home has a fittingly solemn demeanor Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- imposing
- dignified
- distinguished
- decorous
- august
- staid
- somber
- aristocratic
- elegant
- stately
- handsome
- distingué
- portly
- sombre
- grim
- seemly
- proper
- majestic
- grave
- magisterial
- po-faced
- noble
- sober
- lordly
- elevated
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- silly
- frivolous
- goofy
- undignified
- giddy
- improper
- vulgar
- unseemly
- coarse
- crude
- indecent
- uncouth
- flighty
- crass
2
as in serious
not joking or playful in mood or manner solemn as a judge Synonyms & Similar Words
- serious
- stern
- earnest
- unsmiling
- sober
- humorless
- grave
- sedate
- po-faced
- professional
- staid
- weighty
- distinguished
- harsh
- strict
- grim
- severe
- dignified
- no-nonsense
- uncomic
- businesslike
- sobersided
- gloomy
- serious-minded
- elevated
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- humorous
- playful
- jocular
- flippant
- facetious
- joking
- light
- funny
- comical
- ridiculous
- riotous
- ludic
- droll
- hilarious
- uproarious
- hysterical
- ludicrous
- comic
- antic
- farcical
- kittenish
- lighthearted
- flip
- jesting
- hysteric
- laughable
- frivolous
- goofy
- risible
- puerile
- absurd
- screaming
- silly
- foolish
- fatuous
- flighty
- sidesplitting
- insane
- zany
- preposterous
- scatterbrained
- sappy
- nonsensical
- unwise
- mad
- harebrained
- nutty
- crazy
- balmy
- light-headed
- asinine
- wacky
- whacky
- kooky
- lunatic
- witless
- daft
- daffy
- jerky
- senseless
- loony
- cockeyed
- cuckoo
- brainless
- dotty
- featherbrained
- screwball
- kookie
- half-witted
- looney
- weak-minded
3
as in somber
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the Capitol's rotunda was draped in solemn decorations of a state funeral Synonyms & Similar Words
- somber
- bleak
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- lonely
- depressive
- desolate
- morbid
- lonesome
- murky
- funereal
- gray
- lugubrious
- cold
- elegiac
- sepulchral
- morose
- sombre
- gloomy
- blue
- black
- sullen
- cheerless
- sad
- melancholy
- miserable
- chill
- glum
- wretched
- disconsolate
- saturnine
- dreary
- forlorn
- depressed
- dismal
- drear
- oppressive
- dire
- mournful
- cloudy
- comfortless
- godforsaken
- grey
- tenebrous
- plutonian
- sunless
- elegiacal
- melancholic
- grim
- mirthless
- sorrowful
- dreich
- unhappy
- tenebrific
- distressful
- desperate
- dull
- woebegone
- dejected
- dim
- hangdog
- menacing
- plaintive
- discomfiting
- dismaying
- hopeless
- dispiriting
- Cimmerian
- discouraging
- negative
- inconsolable
- upsetting
- despondent
- distressing
- woeful
- disheartening
- low
- lamentable
- pessimistic
- down
- droopy
- dour
- drab
- colorless
- threatening
- lowering
- lowery
- louring
- loury
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cheerful
- festive
- joyous
- bright
- friendly
- cheery
- joyful
- cordial
- comforting
- mirthful
- gay
- merry
- sunshiny
- jolly
- blithe
- buoyant
- gay
- optimistic
- heartwarming
- hopeful
- blithesome
- lighthearted
- encouraging
- jocund
- cheering
- lightsome
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of solemn are earnest, grave, sedate, serious, sober, and staid. While all these words mean "not light or frivolous," solemn suggests an impressive gravity utterly free from levity.
a sad and solemn occasion
While the synonyms earnest and solemn are close in meaning, earnest suggests sincerity or often zealousness of purpose.
an earnest reformer
While in some cases nearly identical to solemn, grave implies both seriousness and dignity in expression or attitude.
read the proclamation in a grave voice
Although the words sedate and solemn have much in common, sedate implies a composed and decorous seriousness.
remained sedate amid the commotion
In some situations, the words serious and solemn are roughly equivalent. However, serious implies a concern for what really matters.
a serious play about social injustice
The words sober and solemn can be used in similar contexts, but sober stresses seriousness of purpose and absence of levity or frivolity.
a sober look at the state of our schools
The words staid and solemn are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, staid suggests a settled, accustomed sedateness and prim self-restraint.
a quiet and staid community