earnest
46
4.3
- adjective
- /ˈɜrnɪst/
- His earnest desire to help others motivated him to volunteer every weekend.
- earnest effort
- earnest attempt
- earnest desire
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Watch on YouTubeAnd I think that was a genuine and earnest hope and desire.
- And I think that was a genuine and earnest hope and desire.
- You know, I mean, I hate earnest TV.
- Well, because being earnest is somehow a threat.
- And I I wrote a very earnest letter of appeal.
- So how do we explain away this collective and earnest anecdotes of people that we trust?
- And a lot of those people didn't like Lang's photography because it's too earnest, you might say.
- You you couldn't really document empirically any games at all from these really earnest efforts to increase IQ.
- And so all these people that I spend my day with every day are just kind, good, earnest people.
- It's I I wonder if you could even make an earnest Christmas movie now that isn't relegated to the Hallmark Channel.
- The young man said, so earnest, so willing to deny his whole nature at Dulce's request, that the wizard had to laugh.
- And it's not cool to be earnest and have a smile on your face and, you know, embrace life as it comes and be optimistic.
- All this is in fact beginning more and more to possess what the earnest psychologists fear the primitive sees in his environment.
- And, and, and if there's one trait I have, I am so freaking earnest about everything I do.
Examples
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The student made an earnest effort to improve his grades by studying every night.
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And I I wrote a very earnest letter of appeal.
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"I really do, with all my heart." Her wide, earnest eyes looked into his.
Fiction book (1993) -
There was a certain brother who was earnest and eager to lead a good life.
Fiction book (1993) -
The two men stood at the foot of the steps, engaged in earnest conversation.
Fiction book (1992) -
Then he turned to look at her, an earnest seriousness in his eyes.
Fiction book (1990) -
She was too earnest and too committed to her search for justice, and she just didn't want to get in the way of it.
-
His brow revealed his earnest concern, but his expressive blue eyes showed mixed feelings.
Fiction book (1990) -
She spoke to the committee in an earnest tone, expressing her deep concern for the community's future.
Synonyms
∞
1.4
Calm and focused, not playful or joking
236
2.5
Being honest and showing what you really feel
81
4.7
Very serious and formal in a way that shows no humor
71
4.3
Shows deep and sincere feeling in words or actions
9
5.2
A very sincere and strongly felt wish
4
4.7
A person who thinks carefully and acts in a calm, sincere way
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
How Earnest
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word earnest comes from an old English word eornost meaning 'serious desire' or 'strong feeling', and it is related to the name Ernest, which helps you imagine a person who is serious. So, to be earnest is to be serious and sincere.