noun · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈɡɹævɪti/without t-flapping
[ˈɡɹævɪthɪi̯]without t-flapping
/ˈɡɹævɪɾi/t-flapping
[ˈɡɹævɪɾɪi̯]t-flapping
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
/ˈɡɹævəti/without t-flapping
[ˈɡɹævəthɪi̯]without t-flapping
/ˈɡɹævəɾi/t-flapping
[ˈɡɹævəɾɪi̯]t-flapping
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ævɪti
CMU ARPABET:G R AE1 V AH0 T IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:G R AE1 V IH0 T IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Senses relating to seriousness.
Of an activity such as a ceremony, a person's conduct, etc.: the quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; seriousness, solemnity; (countable, archaic or obsolete) a serious or solemn thing, such as a matter, a comment, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Of an activity, situation, words, etc.: the quality of having important or serious consequences; importance, seriousness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
I hope you appreciate the gravity of the situation.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Senses relating to seriousness.
Authority, influence, weight; also, used as a title for a person with authority or influence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Senses relating to physical qualities.
The lowness in pitch of a note, a sound, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Senses relating to physical qualities.
Synonym of gravitation (“the fundamental force of attraction which exists between all matter in the universe that tends to draw bodies towards each other, due to matter causing the curvature of spacetime”); also, a physical law attempting to account for the phenomena of this force.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonym of g-force (“the acceleration of a body relative to the freefall acceleration due to any local gravitational field, expressed in multiples of g0 (the mean acceleration due to gravity (sense 2.2.1) at the Earth's surface)”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: g-force
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
Senses relating to physical qualities.
Dated except in centre of gravity: specific gravity or relative density (“a dimensionless measure which is the ratio of the mass of a substance to that of some reference substance (chiefly an equal volume of water at 4°C)”); also, heaviness, weight.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
(physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface--Albert Einstein
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the more remote the body the less the gravity
the gravitation between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gravitation, gravitational attraction, gravitational force
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: attraction, attractive force
Narrower terms: solar gravity
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gwreh2- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *gwréh2us Proto-Italic *gwraus Latin gravis Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin gravitāslbor. French gravitébor. ▲ Latin gravitāslbor. English gravity Borrowed from French gravité (“seriousness, solemnity; severity; (physics) gravity”), or from its etymon Latin gravitās (“heaviness, weight; seriousness; severity”), equivalent to grave (“serious”) + -ity (suffix forming nouns, especially abstract nouns). Gravitās is derived from gravis (“heavy; grave, serious”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gwreh2- (“heavy”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating states of being). The English word was first used figuratively, and gained the senses relating to physical qualities in the 17th century. Doublet of gravitas.
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
серио́зност
(serióznost)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Bulgarian:
ва́жност
(vážnost)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Catalan:
gravetat
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Danish:
alvorlighed
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Esperanto:
graveco
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Esperanto:
seriozeco
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Finnish:
vakavuus
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
French:
gravité
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Georgian:
სერიოზულობა
(seriozuloba)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
German:
Bedenklichkeit
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
German:
Ernst
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Greek:
δριμύτητα
(drimýtita)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Greek:
σοβαρότητα
(sovarótita)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Hebrew:
כובד
(kóved)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Hindi:
गुरुत्व
(gurutva)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Hindi:
गंभीरता
(gambhīrtā)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Hungarian:
komolyság
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Hungarian:
súlyosság
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Indonesian:
kegawatan
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Indonesian:
keparahan
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Italian:
gravità
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Latin:
gravitās
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Macedonian:
сериозност
(serioznost)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Macedonian:
тежина
(težina)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Macedonian:
важност
(važnost)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Māori:
hōhonutanga
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Middle English:
sadnesse
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Polish:
powaga
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Portuguese:
gravidade
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Romanian:
gravitate
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Russian:
серьёзность
(serʹjóznostʹ)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Russian:
ва́жность
(vážnostʹ)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Spanish:
gravedad
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Tagalog:
kalubhaan
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Telugu:
గాంభీర్యము
(gāmbhīryamu)
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Turkish:
ağırbaşlılık
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Turkish:
ciddiyet
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Welsh:
dwystra
— quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; serious or solemn thing — see also seriousness, solemnity
Finnish:
mataluus
— lowness in pitch of a note, a sound, etc.
Catalan:
gravetat
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Czech:
gravitace
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Esperanto:
gravito
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
French:
gravité
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Hindi:
गुरुत्व
(gurutva)
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Hindi:
गुरुत्वाकर्षण
(gurutvākarṣaṇ)
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Ido:
gravitado
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Indonesian:
gravitasi
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Latin:
gravitās
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Malay:
graviti
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Spanish:
gravedad
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
Tagalog:
grabedad
— synonym of gravitation (cognates) — see also gravitation
