earnestly

adverb

ear·​nest·​ly ˈər-nəst-lē 

: in an earnest and serious manner : not lightly, casually, or flippantly

speaking earnestly

asking earnestly for forgiveness

providing the relief that they had earnestly hoped for

She spoke so earnestly, with such emotion in her voice, that Omakayas was always to remember that moment …

—Louise Erdrich

They sing contemporary R&B earnestly, like they borrowed it and want to return it in better condition than when they got it.

—Danyel Smith

Examples of earnestly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On day two, one of the servers tells me earnestly that a bowl of vegetable soup, consumed properly, should take about half an hour to finish. — Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 15 Aug. 2026

Anne Hathaway will always be the Princess of Genovia for a certain generation, earnestly searching for meaning and truth as her life is turned upside down. — Chris Bellamy, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Deploying renewables paired with intelligent energy conservation and grid management, individuals, businesses, municipalities, and entire countries are earnestly curbing their CO2 emissions. — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026

Though the familiar tropes of YA storytelling exist throughout, the series engages with the genre’s conventions earnestly and with sincerity, says Halsall. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above