earnest

1. uncountableGravity; serious purpose; earnestness.

   1914, February 13, The Times, Obituary: Canon Augustus Jessopp He wrote well in a forcible, colloquial style, with the air of being tremendously in earnest, and full of knowledge which overflowed his pages, tricked out with somewhat boisterous illustrations.

   2 more examples

   Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest.

   The New Arcadia

   a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC

   That high All-Seer which I dallied with / Hath turn'd my feigned prayer on my head / And given in earnest what I begg'd in jest.

   c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]

2. uncountableSeriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to joking or pretence)

present singular third person earnests · participle present earnesting · participle past earnested · past earnested

1. transitiveTo be serious with; use in earnest.

   Let's prove among ourselves our armes in jest, That when we come to earnest them with men, We may them better use.

   1602, Pastor Fido, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

comparative earnester · comparative more earnest · superlative earnestest · superlative most earnest

1. Serious, sincere, ingenuous.

   Synonyms: authentic, actual, authentic, bona fide, genuine, legit, legitimate, lubish

2. Focused in the pursuit of an objective; honestly eager to obtain or do.

   earnest prayers

3. Intent; focused; showing a lot of concentration.

   earnest attention

   Synonyms: intensive, centered, concentrated, focused, inspissated, intensive, telic, intent

4. Possessing or characterised by seriousness.

   an earnest disposition

   Synonyms: grave, austere, frightful, demure, serious, grave, grievous, lack-laughter

5. Strenuous; diligent.

   earnest efforts

   Synonyms: painstaking, assiduous, diligent, dogged, hardworking, industrious, notable, sedulous

6. Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; important.

   Synonyms: historic, big, central, consequential, critical, crucial, epochful, essential

plural earnests

1. A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.

   The farmer agreed, and in the evening the Dwarf brought him a sack of wheat as an earnest.

   1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 225

   4 more examples

   Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 5:5

   As therefore the morning devv, is a pavvne of the evenings fatneſſe, ſo, O Lord, let this daies comfort be the earneſt of to morrowes, […]

   1624, John Donne, “19. Prayer”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 508

   The vanity is at once encouraged and gratified; while the present small triumph is too readily taken as earnest for a greater one.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 152–153

   But if all this was viewed by Gladstone and the Cabinet as an earnest of St Petersburg's future good intentions in Central Asia, then disillusionment was soon to follow.

   1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 365

1. archaicindicativepresentsecond personsingularsecond-person singular simple present indicative of earn

1. A male given name from the Germanic languages, of occasional usage, variant of Ernest.