in earnest
Idioms-
With purposeful or sincere intent, as in We settled down to study in earnest . [c. a.d. 1000]
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Also, in dead earnest . Serious, determined, as in We thought he was joking, but he was in earnest , or I'm in dead earnest about selling the business . In the variant, from the late 1800s, dead means “completely” or “thoroughly” and is used purely for emphasis. [c. a.d. 1000]
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.
Tech borrowing only kicked off in earnest last fall, when the megacap Big Tech companies known as hyperscalers started to voraciously issue debt.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Bank earnings kick off in earnest Tuesday, with results from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all due before the open.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
If petrol prices start dropping in earnest, it could be a tangible sign for Americans that things are getting better.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Construction on housing is expected to start in earnest next year on the campus of Vermont’s Goddard College, which closed in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Boaz’s face had begun to throb in earnest, and he could only kind of breathe out of his nose.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
