in earnest

idiom

1

: in an earnest or serious way

The search began in earnest when the police arrived.

After light showers during the day, it began to rain in earnest in the evening.

It's hard to tell if he's making this proposal in earnest.

2

: not fooling : serious and sincere

We thought he was joking at first, but then we realized that he was in earnest.

Examples of in earnest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Christian support for Israel emerged in earnest during the '60s and '70s, Daniel Hummel, a research fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and expert on U.S.-Israel relations and American evangelicalism, says. —Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 26 May 2024

Her work will begin in earnest next week when Hayes gathers her first U.S. team in suburban Denver for training camp and the first of two friendlies with South Korea. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024