Entry Word: earnestness

Function: noun

Meaning: a mental state free of jesting or trifling <practiced the art of acting with great earnestness>

Synonyms gravity, intentness, seriousness, soberness, sobriety, solemnity

Related Words deliberation, determination, firmness, purposefulness, resolve; absorption, attentiveness, concentration, engrossment

Near Antonyms lightness, shallowness, superficiality; dalliance, dilettantism

Antonyms frivolity, levity, lightheartedness