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grave

serious, grave

adjective GRAH-veh Common
Descriptions & Qualities Quality

Origin: Latin gravis (heavy, weighty).

Also means

severe (of illness or crime)

Usage Note

Grave does not mean 'a grave' (that is una tomba or una fossa). In Italian it means serious or severe (una malattia grave = a serious illness). In music, grave also denotes a very slow, solemn tempo. The grave accent on a vowel in Italian is called accento grave, which is where the musical term originates.

Examples

"La situazione è molto grave."

Natural Translation

The situation is very serious.

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