in earnest

Part of Speech:

All (2) Adjective (1) Adverb (1)

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sobersided adj.
seriously adv.

ADJECTIVE

sobersided

Synonyms

WEAK

austere bound bound and determined businesslike cold sober contemplative deadpan deliberate determined downbeat earnest funereal genuine go for broke grave grim honest intent long-faced meditative no-nonsense pensive pokerfaced reflective resolute resolved sedate set severe sincere sober solemn staid steady stern thoughtful unhumorous unsmiling weighty

ADVERB

seriously

Synonyms

STRONGEST

actively earnestly passionately sincerely vigorously

STRONG

gravely

WEAK

all joking aside cool it cut the comedy determinedly down fervently for real in all conscience in all seriousness intently purposefully resolutely sedately simmer down soberly solemnly sternly straighten out thoughtfully with a straight face with forethought with sobriety zealously

Antonyms

WEAK

casually funnily lightly minor trivially

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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in earnest

The new era does not begin in earnest until Stephen Fleming takes up his post as coach in the winter.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

That began to change in earnest around June, according to Pereyra.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The new Lutnick-ordered review began in earnest on Monday with the only hearing that people can attend in-person during the 45-day-public comment period.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

They turned to cheaper, open-weight models in earnest after that, particularly ones that weren’t built by U.S. frontier labs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

After that, she tried to work in earnest, and, therefore, she didn’t hear James come back.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

in earnest

Example Sentences

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