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Who popularized the word earnest in the play The Importance of Being Earnest?

earnest

[ur-nist] / ˈɜr nɪst /




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.

See Examples For:

He gives off Boy Scout vibes with his earnest tones and short haircut.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

Both Anthropic and OpenAI have said they take safety seriously and their calls for government regulation are earnest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

“And what earnest actually means is direct and truthful.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

They even put down $9,000 in earnest money.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Twenty-two days later, on August 31, 2007, Michael Burry lifted the side pocket and began to unload his own credit default swaps in earnest.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis




Vocabulary lists containing earnest


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