How to Use earnest in a Sentence

earnest

adjective
Definition of earnestnext
Synonyms for earnestnext
  • I'll accept only an earnest apology from you.
  • Vu’s film is more earnest, which at times dulls its tone.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2022
  • If, in 1963, Patricia is the earnest naïf of the claque of housewives, Charlene is the wild card.
    — Sam Sacks, WSJ, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Once the sun sets, looting and burning and killing begin in earnest.
    — Daniel Voll, Esquire, 18 June 2012
  • Some of the evaluations of Williams, like Hoge’s, will be earnest.
    — Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024
  • As the audience closed in, the room became smaller and more earnest.
    — Cierra Black, Essence, 14 Feb. 2024
  • The young man was earnest, asking about how credit works and buying a home.
    — Rachel Uranga, Anchorage Daily News, 10 June 2023
  • The growth of the series’ popularity was a slow and earnest burn.
    — Gene Park, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024
  • No offense to Goddard, but the man is nothing if not earnest.
    — Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 5 Apr. 2024
  • This the realm of the saints and black magic, of the earnest prayer and the evil eye and of the never-ending war between good and bad energies.
    — John MacCormack, ExpressNews.com, 7 Aug. 2020
  • Democrats are getting tired of bearing the burden of being earnest.
    — Abdul El-Sayed, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2022
  • The voices are earnest, upbeat, and — by nature of the fact that they are powered by an LLM — tireless.
    — Casey Newton, The Verge, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Its earnest, adult approach will likely help its cause.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
  • And as the shop’s Latino fry cook Rafael, Marcel Ferrin has the bright, earnest, hopefulness of youth.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
  • The fantastical, earnest world of haunted dolls on eBay.
    — Ryan Katz, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2022
  • With the search over, demolition work was starting in earnest.
    — John Peragine, New York Times, 7 June 2023
  • The videos show his gut reactions to viewing people cook across the spectrum — from earnest to ridiculous.
    — Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
  • With a new administration in office and so much at stake, now is a good time to approach that task in earnest.
    — Liz Spayd, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2017
  • Cain is not unlike his songs, romantic, earnest, still carrying the flush of youth.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2022
  • Because there’s something about the Muppets that is very earnest, not ashamed of real emotion and is never snarky.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 11 Apr. 2023
  • In real life Shannon’s not afraid of being earnest, either.
    — Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2022
  • Hong, as close as the season comes to a real hero, is earnest and emotionally grounded.
    — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The humor may remind you of college a cappella groups, clever and twee and earnest and pleasant enough in small doses.
    — Vulture, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Rodríguez, a petite woman in her mid-30s who exudes an earnest pluck, rushed to the notary’s office soon after the clerk called her.
    — Jeneen Interlandi, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Perhaps The Critic would have done well to follow the rare bit of earnest advice Jimmy offers Nina.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Many places see earnest efforts come and go with the rotation frequency of fashion trends.
    — Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Nick Solak is going to get an earnest opportunity to win the job.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 12 Feb. 2021
  • Powell is quite funny when Eliza meets a bunch of upper-crust types and proceeds, in dead earnest, to mimic each one of the aristocrats.
    — Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Even at 7 feet, Embiid’s attempt to contest the shot was the kind that looked earnest enough on film but probably didn’t affect it.
    — Julian Benbow, BostonGlobe.com, 11 May 2023
  • Only a brief, earnest moment with Jerome LaMaar put a pause on their conversation.
    — Isiah Magsino, Vogue, 15 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earnest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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