allvarlig

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish alvarliker, from Old Norse alvarligr. By surface analysis, allvar (“seriousness”) +‎ -lig.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈalˌvɑːrlɪ(ɡ)/, [ˈalˌvɑːɭɪ(ɡ)]
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

allvarlig

  1. serious (not joking, solemn)
    en man med en allvarlig min
    a man with a serious look on his face
    Men allvarligt talat, vad hade du förväntat dig?
    Seriously though [but seriously speaking], what did you expect?
    – Jag vann just en miljon på lotto! – Allvarligt?
    – I just won a million on the lottery! – Seriously?
  2. serious, severe, grave ((potentially causing something) very bad)
    en mycket allvarlig situation
    a very serious situation
    allvarlig sjukdom
    severe disease
    en allvarlig sjukdom
    a serious disease
    en allvarlig olycka
    a serious / major accident

Usage notes

"Allvarlig" is more idiomatic than seriös for "serious" in the sense of "not joking" or "severe.

Declension

Inflection of allvarlig
Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
common singular allvarlig allvarligare allvarligast
neuter singular allvarligt allvarligare allvarligast
plural allvarliga allvarligare allvarligast
masculine plural2 allvarlige allvarligare allvarligast
Definite positive comparative superlative
masculine singular3 allvarlige allvarligare allvarligaste
all allvarliga allvarligare allvarligaste

1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
2 Dated or archaic.
3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

See also

References

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