Solemnity \So*lem"ni*ty\, n.; pl. {Solemnities}. [L. solemnitas, solennitas: cf. F. solennit['e], solemnit['e], OF. also sollempnit['e].] 1. A rite or ceremony performed with religious reverence; religious or ritual ceremony; as, the solemnity of a funeral, a sacrament.
Great was the cause; our old solemnities From no blind zeal or fond tradition rise, But saved from death, our Argives yearly pay These grateful honors to the god of day. --Pope.
2. ceremony adapted to impress with awe.
The forms and solemnities of the last judgment. --Atterburry.
The statelines and gravity of the Spaniards shows itself in the solemnity of their language. --Addison.
These promises were often made with great solemnity and confirmed with an oath. --J. Edwards.
4. Hence, affected gravity or seriousness.
Solemnity 's a cover for a sot. --Young.
5. Solemn state or feeling; awe or reverence; also, that which produces such a feeling; as, the solemnity of an audience; the solemnity of Westminster Abbey.
6. (Law) A solemn or formal observance; proceeding according to due form; the formality which is necessary to render a thing done valid.
When humor is present we lose not seriousness, but only solemnity.
Another, drawing itself for a full fantasy/reality think-session: 'Can this, the world we see today, be real?' Attacks of solemnity are not absent from other parts of the book.
Of course, not all his counseling was greeted with great solemnity.
And the value of solemnity is overrated because it often induces in people feelings of pomposity, rigidity and a corresponding loss of ordinary human warmth and easy, open communication.