to take seriously
608
3.1
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk ˈsɪrɪəsli/
- It's important to take sleep seriously.
- take very seriously
- take too seriously
- take seriously enough
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Watch on YouTubeSo you're allowed to take it seriously as well.
- So you're allowed to take it seriously as well.
- So I wouldn't, wouldn't take seriously the link to alcohol.
- They're one person actually taking the coronavirus seriously is Bond.
- Stop taking life so seriously is the first thing I'd say.
- It's the only way we'll be taken seriously by idiots.
- How is anybody taking this man seriously when he is sending emails?
- That's a choice we have if we take it seriously, which our leaders do not.
- Now then finally, I tried to take seriously what he wrote in his book.
- And I think that those ideas deserve to be taken seriously and then critiqued.
- So they will take your comments seriously because they have to.
- And the people who were taking her seriously were trying to kill her, right?
Examples
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Finally, all students appeared to take the assessments seriously and took their time thoroughly answering the questions.
Academic text (2011) -
You need to take me seriously.
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But I think this community should be taken seriously and shown respect.
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In high school, she started to take the arts more seriously.
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I appreciate the majority of you taking this unit seriously.
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These men take their privacy very seriously.
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I need people to start taking me seriously as an artist that creates original music.
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So we should maybe take this seriously, as did these authors.
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The political class tends to be insulated from crime and therefore does not take it very seriously.
Academic text (2011) -
You need to take seriously the warning signs of stress before they become a bigger issue.
Synonyms
184
4.1
Consider a fact or idea and include it when making a decision
103
3.2
Consider something when making a decision
33
4.5
To feel very upset or moved by what others say
Antonyms
How Serious
- US
77
4.1
145
3.2
608
3.1
367
3.8
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to consider something important' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'take' (to treat or construe) with 'seriously' (with seriousness/not joking). This is a standard verb + adverb combination with close cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase take seriously comes from the simple image of picking up something important and holding it carefully: you take it in your hands and treat it seriously, so you give it full attention. That's why it means 'to consider something important'.