Serious (5)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(sober can mean sensible or serious)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for sober that I've seen before include "Serious; muted in colour" , "Sensible - clear-headed" , "Serious - sombre" , "Abstemious - grave" , "Serious, dull" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for staid that I've seen before include "Stuffy, traditional" , "Sedate, unadventurous" , "Sedate, sober" , "Stiff; serious minded" , "Sedate; dull" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(acute can mean serious in a medical sense)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for acute that I've seen before include "Sharp - sort of French accent" , "not seen in cafe here!" , "Very perceptive, having sharp mind" , "Grave" , "(Of an angle) less than 90 degrees" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for stern that I've seen before include "Severe part of the ship?" , "having a forbidding appearance" , "Grim, strict" , "Demanding < back" , "Severe and unremitting: area of a ship" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for major that I've seen before include "See 2" , "Important, significant" , "5,27 [PRIME MINISTER]" , "Army rank" , "Main course" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(both can mean solemn)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for grave that I've seen before include "Solemn in a cemetery?" , "Solemn, serious" , "Dignified" , "Sombre in the sepulchre" , "In which to lay a corpse" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for heavy that I've seen before include "Difficult to lift" , "Hard to lift" , "Not light" , "Stodgy; difficult" , "Oppressive" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(similar in meaning)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for solemn that I've seen before include "Formal, ceremonius" , "Formal, dignified" , "'Sedate, grave (6)'" , "gloomy" , "'Earnest, grave (6)'" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(synonyms)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for severe that I've seen before include "Terrible" , "Strict, hard" , "Draconian" , "Austere, grim" , "Harsh - extreme" .)
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">serious</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(similar in meaning)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for earnest that I've seen before include "money involved in contract" , "Grave" , "Serious - advance" , "Oscar Wilde wrote ''The importance of Being . . . . . . . '' (7)" , "Something of value to bind a contract" .)