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earnestness

 - 4 dictionary results

ear⋅nest

1  [ur-nist]
Use earnestness in a Sentence
–adjective
1. serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous: an earnest worker.
2. showing depth and sincerity of feeling: earnest words; an earnest entreaty.
3. seriously important; demanding or receiving serious attention.
–noun
4. full seriousness, as of intention or purpose: to speak in earnest.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME erneste, OE eornoste (adj.); ME ernest, OE eornost (n.); c. D, G ernest

Related forms:
ear⋅nest⋅ly, adverb
ear⋅nest⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. fervent, intent, purposeful, determined, industrious, ambitious. Earnest, resolute, serious, sincere imply having qualities of depth and firmness. Earnest implies having a purpose and being steadily and soberly eager in pursuing it: an earnest student. Resolute adds a quality of determination: resolute in defending the right. Serious implies having depth and a soberness of attitude that contrasts with gaiety and frivolity; it may include the qualities of both earnestness and resolution: serious and thoughtful. Sincere suggests genuineness, trustworthiness, and absence of superficiality: a sincere interest in music.

Antonyms:
1. frivolous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To earnestness
ear·nest 1   (ûr'nĭst)   
adj.  

  1. Marked by or showing deep sincerity or seriousness: an earnest gesture of goodwill.

  2. Of an important or weighty nature; grave. See Synonyms at serious.


[Middle English ernest, from Old English eornoste; see er-1 in Indo-European roots.]
ear'nest·ly adv., ear'nest·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

earnest 
O.E. eornoste (adj.) from a noun eornost "passion, zeal" (surviving only in the phrase in earnest), from P.Gmc. *ern "vigor, briskness" (cf. O.H.G. arnust "struggle," Goth. arniba "safely," O.N. jarna "fight, combat") The proper name Ernest (lit. "resolute") is from the same root.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ear·nest
Pronunciation: '&r-n&st
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French ernes(t) erles, alteration of Old French erres, plural of erre pledge, earnest, alteration of Latin arra, short for arrabo, from Greek arrhabOn, of Semitic origin
: something of value given by a buyer to a seller to bind a bargain
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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