A list of serious tone words to describe the writer’s serious attitude towards a subject matter in a story.
Related: 200 Tone Words (With Sentence Examples)
Below is the list of some serious tone words which can be used to give a serious perspective to a topic in a story. General examples are also included with every serious tone word in the list to help you understand any tone words easily.
Related: Sad Tone Words
Tone Words For Serious (with Examples)
1. Apathetic
: feeling or showing no interest, concern, or emotion
Example- Most people remain apathetic to the problems of the homeless.
2. Austere
: stern or strict in manner, appearance or attitude; grave, somber
Example- Reading this novel, you can easily notice the author’s austere writing style.
3. Compliant
: willingly doing what they are asked to do; submissive; obedient
Example- The manager wanted a compliant team, but he got the opposite.
4. Contemplative
: thinking deeply in a serious and calm way; thoughtful
Example- After a stressful day, Tom went for a contemplative walk.
5. Critical
: criticising; finding fault; crucial, or deciding.
Example- Her critical gaze was a sign for everyone to change and improve.
6. Demeaning
: causing someone to lose the respect of others; damaging or lowering someone’s reputation
Example- The mayor’s speech was found demeaning to a group of people.
7. Depressing
: sad, gloomy; feeling of miserable dejection; low in spirits
Example- The most depressing part of working with the new CEO is his abusive behavior.
8. Dignified
: someone serious, calm, controlled, impressive and therefore deserves respect
Example- He was the only dignified man in the whole office.
9. Earnest
: serious and determined; sincere; showing the depth of feelings
Example- Alan is a great teacher and an earnest man.
10. Grave
: very bad, serious, worrying, critical, important
Example- John didn’t know that he had made a grave mistake.
11. Grim
: severe, stern, or forbidding
Example- Her expressions were so grim that made everybody leave.
12. Pensive
: thinking deeply or seriously, often on a sad subject
Example- He woke up in a pensive mood.
13. Philosophical
: having or showing a calm attitude towards disappointments or difficulties
Example- John has seen so much in life that now he stays philosophical at all worst situations.
14. Pragmatic
: dealing with something in a practical way rather than following theoretical approach, fixed ideas, or rules
Example- He took a pragmatic approach to learn the new language.
15. Restrained
: very calm, unemotional, and controlled
Example- His voice remained restrained, even after the plan fails.
16. Somber
: very serious, or sad; dark, dull and gloomy
Example- He gazed at her with a somber face.
17. Solemn
: very serious and without any humor or cheerfulness
Example- His job makes him look solemn.
18. Stern
: serious; severe or hard in nature
Example- When the police caught him, he started giving them a stern look.
19. Tragic
: extremely sad, mournful, shocking, pathetic, awful, dreadful; often involving death and suffering
Example- The word war 2 is one of the biggest tragic events in human history.
20. Thoughtful
: absorbed in thoughts; mindful; thinking seriously.
Example- Adam always has a thoughtful expression on her face.
Read our list of feeling words to help you add better emotions and texture to your story.
