dead serious
Not joking whatsoever
Completely and utterly serious, with no trace of humor or exaggeration.
The phrase emphasizes that a statement should not be mistaken for joking: I'm dead serious—if you're late again, you're fired.
Dead here functions as an intensifier meaning absolutely, as in dead wrong or dead center.
- solemnSerious and dignified
- graveSerious and worrying
- earnestSincerely intense in purpose
- sternStrict or ship's aft
- no-nonsenseSerious and efficient
mean business · poker-faced · grim · steely · unflinching · stone-cold · intense · resolute · unwavering · no laughing matter · somber · humorless · straight-faced · straight shooter · matter-of-fact · determined · sincere · genuine
- death idiomskick the bucket, six feet under, kiss of death, death wish, death trap
- Candor Phrasesto be honest, truth be told, honestly, frankly, to tell the truth
- serious expressionsno joke, I mean it, in earnest, no laughing matter, for real