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

For now, that means interest rates returning to their level before financial repression began in earnest in 2008.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Garden installation began in pieces in 2022 and in earnest in early 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

This is your risk tolerance, and figuring that out is usually how financial advisers start the planning process in earnest, after getting down all your demographic information and calculating your current balance sheet.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 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

When he looked up, his brother was still watching him in earnest.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

in earnest

Example Sentences

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