earnestly

E1A1R1N1E1S1T1L1Y4
US/ˈɝnɪstli/UK/ˈɜːnɪstli/

adverb

In an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort.

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

adverbearnestly (comparative more earnestly, superlative most earnestly)

comparative more earnestly · superlative most earnestly

  1. In an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort.

    One thing, however, I do most earnestly beg and entreat of you: […]

    1954, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick, “Socrates on Trial: The Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, →OCLC, page 19
    3 more examples

    The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion now thanked the Good Witch earnestly for her kindness, […]

    1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, “The Good Witch Grants Dorothy’s Wish”, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC, page 256

    Before long, the unsuspecting salesman was earnestly pitching him "the quietest noisemaker on the market."

    1999 April 5, William Safire, “Essay; The Quiet Noisemaker”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Sep 2017

    “This the only seat y’all got?” [Dank] Demoss, who also goes by Dajua Blanding, asks earnestly.

    2025 February 11, Patrick Reilly, “500-pound rapper suing Lyft over ride denial asks for couch over chair at ‘Breakfast Club’ interview: ‘This is accommodation’”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Feb 2025

    Synonyms: for real

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adverbin a serious manner

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englisheornostlīċe“earnestly, strictly”
  2. Middle Englishernestly
  3. Englishearnestly

From Middle English ernestly, from Old English eornostlīċe (“earnestly, strictly”), equivalent to earnest + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish hartaasti, vakavasti
  • hartaastiin an earnest manner
  • vakavastiin an earnest manner
French sérieusement
  • sérieusementin an earnest manner
German ernsthaft
  • ernsthaftin an earnest manner
Latin certātim
  • certātimin an earnest manner
Romanian în mod serios, cu seriozitate
  • în mod seriosin an earnest manner
  • cu seriozitatein an earnest manner
Spanish encarecidamente
  • encarecidamentein an earnest manner

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

earnestly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnestly

MLA

“earnestly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnestly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “earnestly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/earnestly.

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