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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



... they both, anxiously. And then they preserved a deep silence; and when Montagu, who immediately began to dress, knelt down to say his prayers, Eric, though unable to get up, knelt also over his pillow, and the two felt that their young earnest prayers were mingling for the one who seemed to have been taken while ...
— Eric • Frederic William Farrar
... finished, he showed it to Godolphin, who was delighted with it, and particularly with the famous similitude of the Angel. Addison was instantly appointed to a Commissionership worth about two hundred pounds a year, and was assured that this appointment was only an earnest of greater favours. ...
— Critical and Historical Essays Volume 2 • Thomas Babington Macaulay
... people and fine speeches turn your head, Theodora," he would say, in a tone that might either have been jest or earnest. "They spoiled me in my infancy, and my unfortunate experience causes me ...
— Theo - A Sprightly Love Story • Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett
... employed on the first night, in laughing, an occupation shared by the entire audience. The play was never in danger. There was not a weak spot. No, not even the space covered by Mr. DARNLEY'S moustache. It may be said that an earnest Barrister should be clean shaven, but the remark would only emanate from those who are bachelors. The married advocate has not only to consider his Judge and Jury, but also his wife, and nine times ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 24, 1887 • Various
... read before the Historical Society at a recent meeting, on the Private Life of Thomas Jefferson, and making public a larger portion of your ample materials, in the form of public lectures. The unanimous expression of approbation on the part of the Society, which your paper elicited, is an earnest of the satisfaction with which your consent to lecture will be received by the ...
— A Letter to Hon. Charles Sumner, with 'Statements' of Outrages upon Freedmen in Georgia • Hamilton Wilcox Pierson


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