earned

E1A1R1N1E1D2
Canada, US/ɝnd/UK/ɜːnd/

adjective

Not paid for; appearing in media on its own merits.

Opposite
CommonScrabble 7

Meanings

verb

alternative UK earnt

  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of earn
adjectiveearned (not comparable)

alternative UK earnt

  1. not comparablebusinessNot paid for; appearing in media on its own merits.

    Earned media has a number of advantages. It's “free” in the sense that clients are not “billed” for the earned media placement.

    2015 March 27, Larry D. Kelley, Kim Bartel Sheehan, Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach, Routledge, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    This chapter will cover four ways in which media and technology partners have infused data into the creative process to work together with marketers: 1) in paid and earned advertising (including social media) […]

    2017 January 3, Becky Wang, Creativity and Data Marketing: A Practical Guide to Data Innovation, Kogan Page Publishers, →ISBN, page 121

    Ben & Jerry's flexed its brand authority regarding these missions when it took a public stand with the Black Lives Matter movement (witnessed on all of its owned media) at the same time it launched its newest line of flavors to get the greatest amount of earned coverage possible.

    2018 March 26, Jeff Fromm, Angie Read, Marketing to Gen Z: The Rules for Reaching This Vast--and Very Different--Generation of Influencers, AMACOM, →ISBN, page 172

    Synonyms: organic, unpaid

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNot paid for; appearing in media on its own merits.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivegained or acquired; especially through merit or as a result of effort or action

Similar
Opposite
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with earned

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

earned. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earned

MLA

“earned.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earned. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “earned,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earned.

Source: earned on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.