Earnest: meaning, example and synonyms
Earnestadj. Sincere and serious in intention or feeling.
Example
Despite the earnest efforts of the volunteers, the restoration stalled when the committee could not agree on which century's design to recreate.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Synonyms
- sincere, serious, heartfelt, wholehearted
- Antonyms
- insincere, frivolous, flippant, half-hearted
- Memory tip
- In earnest = for real: an earnest person means every word.
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Check yourself: Earnest in context
Though his classmates teased him for it, the boy was entirely ______ in his wish to become an astronomer, and he spent every clear night charting the sky from his rooftop.
Answer: earnest. Charting the sky every night shows a sincere, serious wish: earnest. Superfluous, convoluted and innocuous don't describe sincerity.
Both delegations made ______ efforts to reach a compromise, meeting late into the night and redrafting the proposal a dozen times.
Answer: earnest. Late meetings and many redrafts show serious, sincere effort: earnest. Superfluous, salient and innocuous don't describe wholehearted effort.