earnest

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɝ.nɪst/ UK /ˈɜː.nɪst/ See IPA manual

Freq #15740

Meanings

1

adj
Serious and sincere in what you say or do.

She made an earnest effort to finish the project on time.
2

adj
Very determined and willing to work hard to achieve something.

He is an earnest student who never misses a class.
3

noun
Serious intention, especially in the phrase 'in earnest'.

After the holidays, work on the new building began in earnest.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · serious and sincere in what... sincere solemn serious

2 adj · very determined and willing... diligent industrious studious

Word family

Derived forms earnestfulearnestly earnestnessearnestyoverearnestunearnest

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

in earnest
with serious effort or intention

Preposition + noun

Etymology

From Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌱𐌰 (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”). T…

*h₃er- Proto-Indo-European ernest Middle English eornest Old English *ernustuz Proto-Germanic *arniz Proto-Germanic *er- Proto-Indo-European eornoste Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# earnest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɝ.nɪst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɜː.nɪst/
**Frequency rank:** 15740

## Meanings
1. Serious and sincere in what you say or do.
2. Very determined and willing to work hard to achieve something.
3. Serious intention, especially in the phrase 'in earnest'.

## Examples
- She made an earnest effort to finish the project on time.
- He is an earnest student who never misses a class.
- After the holidays, work on the new building began in earnest.

## Derived Forms
- earnestful
- earnestly
- earnestness
- earnesty
- overearnest
- unearnest

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃er-
- Root: ernest
- Root: eornest
- Root: *ernustuz
- Root: *arniz
- Root: *er-
- Root: eornoste

## Etymology
From Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌱𐌰 (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”). T…

## AI Etymology
Earnest comes from Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌽𐌹𐌱𐌰 (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”). T.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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