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I had pretty much raised my kids and my first wife and I were divorced, so I began, in earnest, to start my musical career again. Going for the big record deal and all of that.
Jimmy Carl Black

Meaning of "earnest" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD EARNEST

Old English eornost; related to Old High German ernust seriousness, Old Norse ern energetic, efficient, Gothic arniba secure.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF EARNEST

earnest  [ˈɜːnɪst] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF EARNEST

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Earnest can act as a noun and an adjective.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES EARNEST MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Earnest

Earnest may refer to: People: ▪ Earnest Byner, former National Football League running back ▪ Charles Earnest Moody, American gospel song writer and performer ▪ Earnest Elmo Calkins, early advertising innovator ▪ Earnest Graham, NFL running back ▪ Earnest Gray, former NFL wide receiver ▪ Earnest Hooton, American physical anthropologist ▪ Earnest Jackson, former NFL running back ▪ Earnest Mudzengi, Zimbabwean politician ▪ Earnest Rhone, former NFL linebacker ▪ Les Earnest, American computer scientist Ships: ▪ Earnest class destroyer, a destroyer class of the British Royal Navy ▪ HMS Earnest, a destroyer in the class...

Definition of earnest in the English dictionary

The first definition of earnest in the dictionary is serious in mind or intention. Other definition of earnest is showing or characterized by sincerity of intention. Earnest is also demanding or receiving serious attention.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH EARNEST


balloonist
bəˈluːnɪst
bassoonist
bəˈsuːnɪst
cartoonist
kɑːˈtuːnɪst
corniced
ˈkɔːnɪst
cornicing
ˈkɔːnɪst
cornist
ˈkɔːnɪst
faunist
ˈfɔːnɪst
flugelhornist
ˈfluːɡəlˌhɔːnɪst
Hinayanist
ˌhiːnəˈjɑːnɪst
hornist
ˈhɔːnɪst
hygienist
ˈhaɪdʒiːnɪst
internist
ˈɪntɜːnɪst
machinist
məˈʃiːnɪst
magazinist
ˌmæɡəˈziːnɪst
Mahayanist
ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnɪst
opportunist
ˌɒpəˈtjuːnɪst
overearnest
ˌəʊvərˈɜːnɪst
plenist
ˈpliːnɪst
routinist
ruːˈtiːnɪst
sopranist
səˈprɑːnɪst

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE EARNEST

early-music
early-type star
early-warning
earlywood
earmark
earmuff
earn
earn one´s daily bread
earned income
earner
earnest money
earnestly
earnestness
earning power
earnings
Earnings Related Benefit
Earnings Related Supplement
earnings-related
EAROM
earphone

WORDS THAT END LIKE EARNEST

bird´s nest
bird´s-nest
crow´s nest
crow´s-nest
dishonest
disnest
feather one´s nest
finest
funest
honest
hornet´s nest
in earnest
love nest
mare´s-nest
nest
renest
soonest
thinnest
trapnest
underhonest

Synonyms and antonyms of earnest in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «EARNEST»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «earnest» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of earnest

Translation of «earnest» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF EARNEST

Find out the translation of earnest to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of earnest from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «earnest» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

真挚的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

serio
570 millions of speakers

English

earnest
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

बयाना
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

جادة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

искренен
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

sério
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

আন্তরিক
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

sérieux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

bersungguh-sungguh
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

ernsthaft
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

まじめな
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

진지한
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tulung
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tận tâm
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

ஊக்கமான
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

बयाणा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

ciddi
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

serio
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

starający
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

щирий
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

stăruitoare
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

σοβαρά
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

erns
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

Earnest
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

alvor
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of earnest

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «EARNEST»

The term «earnest» is very widely used and occupies the 22.881 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
90
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «earnest» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of earnest
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «earnest».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «EARNEST» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «earnest» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «earnest» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about earnest

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «EARNEST»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word earnest.
1
Jean Anouilh
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute! Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated. Begin, and then the work will be completed.
2
Walter Bagehot
So long as there are earnest believers in the world, they will always wish to punish opinions, even if their judgment tells them it is unwise and their conscience that it is wrong.
3
Julianna Baggott
I always think I know the way a novel will go. I write maps on oversized art pads like the kind I carried around in college when I was earnest about drawing. I need to have some idea of the shape of the novel, where its headed, so that I can proceed with confidence. But the truth is my characters start doing and saying things I don't expect.
4
Liberty Hyde Bailey
Extension work is not exhortation. Nor is it exploitation of the people, or advertising of an institution, or publicity work for securing students. It is a plain, earnest, and continuous effort to meet the needs of the people on their own farms and in the localities.
5
Chuck Berry
It's amazing how much you can learn if your intentions are truly earnest.
6
John Biddle
After a long, impartial enquiry of the truth, and after much and earnest calling upon God, to give unto me the spirit and revelation in the knowledge of Him, I find myself obliged, both by the principles of reason and Scripture, to embrace the opinion I now hold forth.
7
Jimmy Carl Black
I had pretty much raised my kids and my first wife and I were divorced, so I began, in earnest, to start my musical career again. Going for the big record deal and all of that.
8
Adrien Brody
It would be terribly boring to be earnest.
9
Georg Buchner
We are always on stage, even when we are stabbed in earnest at the end.
10
Richard Francis Burton
Travellers, like poets, are mostly an angry race: by falling into a daily fit of passion, I proved to the governor and his son, who were profuse in their attentions, that I was in earnest.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «EARNEST»

Discover the use of earnest in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to earnest and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Importance of Being Earnest
The tale of two gentlemen who adopt fictitious identities in order to woo the objects of their affections is Wilde’s most beloved work, considered to be one of the wittiest plays ever written in English.
Oscar Wilde, 1899
2
The Importance of Being Earnest
This edition includes an appendix with Wilde's earlier versions of the play and deleted scenes that illustrate Wilde's creative process.
Oscar Wilde, 1984
3
The importance of being Earnest
The text of the Victorian satire is accompanied by a profile of the playwright and a commentary on the characters and staging of the play
Oscar Wilde, 1959
4
The Importance of Being Earnest
Designed to provide insight and an overview about each text for students and teachers, these guides endeavor to develop knowledge and understanding rather than just provide answers and summaries.
Fiona Gregory, 2012
5
The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays
Also included in this special collection are Wilde's first comedy success, Lady Windermere's Fan, and his richly sensual melodrama, Salome.
Oscar Wilde, 2012
6
Comic Effects in ́The Importance of Being Earnest ́ by Oscar ...
His characters are typical Victorian snobs who are arrogant, overly proper, formal and concerned with money. This essay will provide an outline of the comic effects in this play. How Wilde uses humour, satire, farce and irony.
Stefanie Grill, 2007
7
The Importance of Not Being Earnest: The Feeling Behind ...
This feeling is a mental state in which people exclude some situation from their knowledge of how the world really is, thereby inhibiting seriousness where seriousness would be counterproductive.
Wallace L. Chafe, 2007
8
Earnest Games: Folkloric Patterns in the Canterbury Tales
In Ernest Games Carl Lindahl recovers a folkloric world long hidden from readers of Chaucer. Lindahl is the first critic to demonstrate how the poem reflects the social and artistic patterns of medieval folk performance.
Carl Lindahl, 1987
9
Lighting for Product Photography: The Digital Photographer's ...
The latter half of this guide compiles images created on actual assignments, depicting a variety of products photographed in a range of settings.
Allison Earnest, 2012
10
From Jest to Earnest
E. P. Roe (1838-1888) was once one of the most popular American novelists, outselling even Mark Twain.
E. P. Roe, 2007

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «EARNEST»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term earnest is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Earnest: White House hasn't learned any lessons from the Clinton …
"I don't have any reason to contradict what Hillary Clinton has said," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at a Wednesday ... «Washington Examiner, Jul 15»
2
No Sign of Malicious Actors in NYSE Malfunction: Earnest
White House press secretary Josh Earnest talks about today's computer malfunction that led to a halt of trading at the New York Stock ... «Bloomberg, Jul 15»
3
Earnest in Chandler Is Worth the Drive
Unless you live in the East Valley, you will drive and drive and drive to get to Earnest in Chandler. And your journey, once you arrive, will have ... «Phoenix New Times, Jul 15»
4
Tickets are on sale for 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
CLEAR LAKE | Tickets are on sale for the outdoor production of Oscar Wilde's “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a joint production of Central ... «Mason City Globe Gazette, Jul 15»
5
Video: David Suchet's Earnest makeover
David Suchet as The Importance Of Being Earnest's Lady Bracknell; has any phrase ever conjured up so delicious an image in your mind? «Official London Theatre, Jul 15»
6
Lindsey Graham rips Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump on immigration
Asked about Mr. Graham's comments Wednesday, White House press secretary Joshua Earnest said that to suggest Mr. Obama didn't do ... «Washington Times, Jul 15»
7
'The Importance of Being Earnest' coming to OAT
Ozark Actors Theatre's 28th season continues with productions of “The Importance of Being Earnest” and a second cabaret performance. «The Rolla Daily News, Jul 15»
8
N-talks continue in earnest
VIENNA, Jul. 09 (MNA) – Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi has joined the deputy-level talks with Helga Schmid today as the talks ... «Mehr News Agency - English Version, Jul 15»
9
Poetry is my earnest & natural expression, says Manmohan Singh …
“Poetry is my earnest and natural expression, and this book, which is my second, the first being in Hindustani, has been written for my daughter, ... «The Indian Express, Jul 15»
10
Earnest: Obama Won't Accept Iran Deal Short of Outline
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest speaks about the Iran nuclear talks. Earnest speaks the daily White House news conference. «Bloomberg, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Earnest [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/earnest>. Apr 2024 ».
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