Word
grave
Meanings
Very serious and worrying; not minor or easily fixed.
A place in the ground where a dead person is buried.
Definition
Grave means serious and worrying, or a place where a dead person is buried.
Grave most commonly describes a situation, problem, or expression that is very serious and causes concern. It can also mean the place in the ground where a dead person is buried. In formal writing and speech, it often signals urgency or high importance.
Examples
- I realized the situation was grave when the normally calm manager stopped the meeting to call for urgent support.
- You should understand that missing those safety checks can have grave consequences for everyone on site.
- He spoke in a grave tone, as if every word carried extra weight in the silent room.
- She stood by the grave for a long time, holding the flowers tightly and looking out across the cemetery.
- They treated the warnings as grave, even though the evidence was still incomplete.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse grave (serious) with gravy (a sauce) because the words look similar.
More at C1 level
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- xenophobia Xenophobia is a strong dislike or fear of people from other countries or cultures.
- genocide Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular group in order to …
- conundrum A conundrum is a confusing and difficult problem to solve.
- pretentious Trying to seem more important, intelligent, or cultured than you really are.
More adjectives
- agnostic An agnostic is someone who does not claim to know whether God exists.
- pragmatic Pragmatic means focused on practical results rather than ideals or theories.
- ubiquitous Present, appearing, or found everywhere at the same time.
- cynical Cynical describes believing that people are mainly motivated by self-interest and not sincere.
- apathetic Apathetic means showing little or no interest, concern, or enthusiasm.