earnest
adjective
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Definition of earnest
(Entry 1 of 3)
earnest
noun (1)Definition of earnest (Entry 2 of 3)
earnest
noun (2)Definition of earnest (Entry 3 of 3)
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Other Words from earnest
Adjective
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for earnest
Synonyms: Adjective
grave, humorless, no-nonsense, po-faced [British], sedate, serious, severe, sober, sobersided, solemn, staid, uncomic, unsmiling, weighty
Antonyms: Adjective
facetious, flip, flippant, humorous, jesting, jocular, joking, kittenish, ludic, playful
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Examples of earnest in a Sentence
Adjective
Barnum's antics provoked tongue-in-cheek reporting and nods and winks in the newspapers, but no earnest cries of humbug. The artful deceiver turned fraud into family fun. — Jackson Lears, New Republic, 12 Nov. 2001 Students of all ages were forced to watch these earnest but bizarre short films, which apprised them of such things as the folly of playing on steep precipices overlooking the ocean, the need to minimize one's square-dancing during the early days of the menstrual cycle, the inadvisability of shooting heroin before an important track meet and the necessity of placing the fork to the left of the plate. — Joe Queenan, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2000 … a Prussian émigré who became a middle-class English gentleman; an angry agitator who spent much of his adult life in the scholarly silence of the British Museum Reading Room; a gregarious and convivial host who fell out with almost all his friends; a devoted family man who impregnated his housemaid; and a deeply earnest philosopher who loved drink, cigars and jokes. — Francis Wheen, The Nation, 10 July 2000 … a bland expression on my face, looking more innocent than an innocent person has any business looking, I imagined that the sales-women who sometimes glanced over at me saw an earnest young shopper instead of a transparent little klepto. — Tobias Wolff, Forbes, 20 Mar. 1989 an earnest plea for help I'll accept only an earnest apology from you.Noun (1)
On Easter Monday the rain began in earnest. — Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia, (1977) 2003 The sidewalks were crowded as women and men argued and bargained with each other as the shopping day began in earnest. — Harold Robbins, The Storyteller, 1985 Books are an addiction, that, when aroused in earnest, is rarely calmed. — Joseph Epstein, The Middle of My Tether, 1983 The divorce proceedings began in earnest, and they were earnestly vile. — Angie Bowie et al., US, 23 Nov. 1982Noun (2)
… the cruiser Aurora, manned by Bolsheviks and anchored in the Neva, announced that it would open fire on the Winter Palace, and fired a few blank charges as an earnest of its resolve. — Martin Gilbert, The First World War, (1994) 1995 In 1942, Roosevelt, Stimson, and Marshall all recognized the degree of fraud in MacArthur but let him get away with his act because in those black days morale required an invincible hero in the Pacific as an earnest of eventual victory there. — Paul Fussell, Wartime, 1989 When I had promised to pay for his information and given him an earnest, he told me that he had made two journeys between Carfax and a house in Piccadilly, and had taken from this house to the latter nine great boxes, "main heavy ones," with a horse and cart hired by him for this purpose. — Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
When the race began in earnest again on lap 17, Hamilton burst straight past Ricciardo into third while Vettel brilliantly defended the corner twice to fend off Bottas. — Associated Press, latimes.com, "Sebastian Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix to take Formula One series lead," 16 Apr. 2017 And Wura O. is surprisingly earnest: Africa is a place full of beauty, exuberance, and culture. — Sebastian Modak, Condé Nast Traveler, "Google Maps Reviews of Entire Continents Are Bizarre and Hilarious," 7 Apr. 2017 With a new administration in office and so much at stake, now is a good time to approach that task in earnest. — Liz Spayd, New York Times, "The Risk of Unnamed Sources? Unconvinced Readers," 18 Feb. 2017 Yet in an era of fake news, overheated partisanship and general rancor, Mr. Mazza seems unfailingly earnest and without an agenda — aside from trying to become a reporter, with his own notion of what that means. — Marc Santora, New York Times, "A Young Reporter Makes a Soft Query and Pleases an Upset President," 17 Feb. 2017 This championship marked the culmination of a slow rebuilding process, which started in earnest when the Cubs hired Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations before the 2012 season. — Jared Diamond, WSJ, "Chicago Cubs Win the World Series, Ending 108-Year Drought," 3 Nov. 2016 Few music figures have made a more earnest attempt to break into fashion than Yeezus, and these sorts of collections follow in those Westian footsteps. — Pete Forester, Esquire, "How Far Can the Justin Bieber Merch Machine Go?," 22 Aug. 2016 The campaign kicked off in earnest Thursday night on a conference call with at least 30 delegates from 15 states, according to multiple participants. — Ed O'keefe, Washington Post, "Dozens of GOP delegates launch new push to halt Donald Trump," 17 June 2016 A team spokesman declined to be quoted, but expressed earnest affection for the Hall of Science; the Mets have a representative on the hall’s board. — Jim Dwyer, New York Times, "Nerds and Rockers to Face Off in a Queens Parking Lot," 19 May 2016Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The most immediate question is whether the British can map out in advance their negotiating partners’ positions before the talks start in earnest. — Stephen Fidler, WSJ, "Theresa May Gives Up a Bargaining Chip on Brexit Talks," 6 Oct. 2016 Then, the defending of the lead continued in earnest. — Andrew Das, New York Times, "Soccer | United States 1, Paraguay 0 | Copa America, Group A," 11 June 2016 But Sanders appeared to be offering in earnest, prompted in part by the Clinton campaign’s decision, announced Monday, not to follow through on an earlier pledge to debate him in California. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "What Game Is Bernie Sanders Playing with Donald Trump?," 27 May 2016 The battle for control of the living room just began in earnest.