earnestly C2+ Topic:Describing People US /ˈɝnɪstli/ UK /ˈɜːnɪstli/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adv in a sincere and serious manner He pleaded earnestly with the board to reconsider their decision. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · in a sincere and serious... sincerelyseriouslyferventlyintentlygravelywholeheartedlyzealously ↔ Opposites flippantlycasuallyinsincerely Word family Related forms earnestearnestness Etymology AI details From 'earnest' + '-ly'. 'Earnest' is from Old English 'eornost' ('seriousness, zeal'), from Proto-Germanic '*ernustuz'. eornost Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # earnestly **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ˈɝnɪstli/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɜːnɪstli/ ## Meanings 1. in a sincere and serious manner ## Examples - He pleaded earnestly with the board to reconsider their decision. ## Synonyms - sincerely - seriously - fervently - intently - gravely - wholeheartedly - zealously ## Antonyms - flippantly - casually - insincerely ## Related Forms - earnest - earnestness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: eornost ## Etymology From 'earnest' + '-ly'. 'Earnest' is from Old English 'eornost' ('seriousness, zeal'), from Proto-Germanic '*ernustuz'. ## AI Etymology Earnestly is from 'earnest' + '-ly'. 'Earnest' is from Old English 'eornost' ('seriousness, zeal'), from Proto-Germanic '*ernustuz'. Important recorded forms include eornost (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers in a sincere and serious manner. The wider family includes related words such as earnest and earnestness. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown