All 4 Uses of
grave
in
The War of the Worlds
- Yet the next day there was nothing of this in the papers except a little note in the Daily Telegraph, and the world went in ignorance of one of the gravest dangers that ever threatened the human race.†
Chpt 1.1 *gravest = most important or most serious
- No doubt, ran the report, the situation was of the strangest and gravest description, but the public was exhorted to avoid and discourage panic.†
Chpt 1.14
Uses with a meaning too common or too rare to warrant foucs:
- On the surface of the earth the force of gravity is three times what it is on the surface of Mars.†
Chpt 1.7
- The soldiers were having the greatest difficulty in making them realise the gravity of their position.†
Chpt 1.12 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(grave as in: Her manner was grave.) serious and/or solemnThe exact meaning of this sense of grave can depend upon its context. For example:
- "This is a grave problem," or "a situation of the utmost gravity." -- important, dangerous, or causing worry
- "She was in a grave mood upon returning from the funeral." -- sad or solemn
- "She looked me in the eye and gravely promised." -- in a sincere and serious manner
-
(2)
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) meaning too common or too rare to warrant focus:
Better known meanings of grave and gravity:Less common meanings of grave:- grave -- a place where a dead body is buried
- gravity -- in the sense of physics to refer to the force of attraction between all masses in the universe--especially the force that causes things to fall toward the earth
- death -- as in "A message from beyond the grave."
- describing a color as dark
- to sculpt with a chisel
- to clean and coat the bottom of a wooden ship with pitch
- grave accent -- a punctuation mark (`) that is used in some non-English languages, and that is placed over some letters of the alphabet to tell how they are pronounced.
- grave musical direction -- in a slow and solemn manner