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Earnest   /ˈərnɪst/   Listen
adjective
Earnest  adj.  
1.
Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain or do; zealous with sincerity; with hearty endeavor; heartfelt; fervent; hearty; used in a good sense; as, earnest prayers. "An earnest advocate to plead for him."
2.
Intent; fixed closely; as, earnest attention.
3.
Serious; important. (Obs.) "They whom earnest lets do often hinder."
Synonyms: Eager; warm; zealous; ardent; animated; importunate; fervent; sincere; serious; hearty; urgent. See Eager.


noun
Earnest  n.  Seriousness; reality; fixed determination; eagerness; intentness. "Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest." "And given in earnest what I begged in jest."
In earnest, serious; seriously; not in jest; earnestly.


Earnest  n.  
1.
Something given, or a part paid beforehand, as a pledge; pledge; handsel; a token of what is to come. "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." "And from his coffers Received the golden earnest of our death."
2.
(Law) Something of value given by the buyer to the seller, by way of token or pledge, to bind the bargain and prove the sale.
Earnest money (Law), money paid as earnest, to bind a bargain or to ratify and prove a sale.
Synonyms: Earnest, Pledge. These words are here compared as used in their figurative sense. Earnest is not so strong as pledge. An earnest, like first fruits, gives assurance, or at least a high probability, that more is coming of the same kind; a pledge, like money deposited, affords security and ground of reliance for the future. Washington gave earnest of his talent as commander by saving his troops after Braddock's defeat; his fortitude and that of his soldiers during the winter at Valley Forge might rightly be considered a pledge of their ultimate triumph.


verb
Earnest  v. t.  To use in earnest. (R.) "To earnest them (our arms) with men."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Earnest" Quotes from Famous Books



... make an earnest personal request to the reader who is minded to follow the discussion through the following pages, that he will in good faith attempt to do this thing: that he will lay aside for the present his ...
— Monopolies and the People • Charles Whiting Baker
... my soul, Master, what an extraordinary thing!" he ejaculated. "Are you in earnest? Or are you trying to see how much of a fool you can make ...
— Kilmeny of the Orchard • Lucy Maud Montgomery
... herself in an easy chair, in an attitude of graceful abandonment, the earnest brown eyes looking eagerly out from under a tangle of auburn hair, and resting with absorbed admiration upon her father, whose words and movements she followed with unflagging attentiveness. The fastidious ...
— At Fault • Kate Chopin
... and continued trying to find A. At the same time I commenced in earnest to live on fruit and brown bread only, and enjoyed better tone and health every day, so that it was a joy to walk down the street in the sun and exchange glances with passengers a la old Walt. One day in the Botanical Gardens veils seemed ...
— Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 (of 6) • Havelock Ellis
... Mountain Ranch is nearest, and thither Mr. Gray goes first. Mrs. Morpher, over a kneading-trough, with her bare arm whitened with flour, is genuinely grieved at parting with the master, and, in spite of Mr. Gray's earnest remonstrances, insists upon conducting him into the chill parlor, leaving him there until she shall have attired herself in a manner becoming to "company." "I don't want you to go at all—no more I don't," says Mrs. Morpher, with all sincerity, as she seats ...
— The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales • Bret Harte


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