having or showing vigorous vegetal or animal life; "flourishing crops"; "flourishing chicks"; "a growing boy"; "fast-growing weeds"; "a thriving deer population"
requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve; "raised serious objections to the proposal"; "the plan has a serious flaw"
of great consequence; "marriage is a serious matter"
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities; "a serious student of history"; "a serious attempt to learn to ski"; "gave me a serious look"; "a serious young man"; "are you serious or joking?"; "Don't be so serious!"
the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife"
something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions; "both sides were deeply in earnest, even passionate"; "an entirely sincere and cruel tyrant"; "a film with a solemn social message"
very lively and profitable; "flourishing businesses"; "a palmy time for stockbrokers"; "a prosperous new business"; "doing a roaring trade"; "a thriving tourist center"; "did a thriving business in orchids"