earnestly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of earnestly
First recorded before 1000; earnest 1 ( def. ) + -ly
Explanation
You'd feel terrible laughing at the goofy love song your friend wrote and performed in front of an audience, especially if he sang it earnestly, or seriously and sincerely. If you do something earnestly, you do it in a serious, heartfelt way. You might earnestly promise your friend that you'll never forget her birthday again, or earnestly ask your grandmother if there's anything you can do to help her out while she's recovering from surgery. If you earnestly study for your upcoming French exam, it means you're really buckling down to learn those vocabulary words. The Old English root of earnestly is eornost, which means "seriousness or serious intent."
Vocabulary lists containing earnestly
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Earnestly scribbling in a Moleskine notebook, Jim radiates nervous energy and ambition; Emily notices the way he hungrily eyes her desk when she asks him where he sees himself in five years.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 22, 2018
Earnestly devised, it was studiously ignored by almost everyone in Washington.
From Forbes • Oct. 8, 2014
Earnestly ruffling his youngest brother’s hair, he flashed me a winning smile.
From New York Times • May 17, 2012
Earnestly he had exhorted: "Help us, help us, help us."
From Time Magazine Archive
Earnestly and expertly, he cast himself not as an outsider but rather as a literal embodiment of the American story.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
