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

Both Anthropic and OpenAI say they take safety seriously and their calls for regulation are in earnest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Stocks stumbled out of the gate after Labor Day, with a jittery tone gripping markets as the typically weak month of September began in earnest after the holiday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Rodrigo’s public work in activism began in earnest on the tour for “Guts” in February 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The arm-wrestling will kick off in earnest at a Brussels summit in October, with a likely second meeting in November, before a grand finale in December when leaders will look to seal the deal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Ravenel began to wake in earnest at six in the morning.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

in earnest

Example Sentences

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