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

This time around, Demna seemed to be speaking more earnestly about glamour and style, and to a customer base that fashion often pretends is not there. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 26 Sep. 2026

Small liberal-arts colleges focus almost exclusively on undergraduate education and are earnestly committed to the arts and letters. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

Roberts came away from the conversation excited by how earnestly Heyward embraced that message. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above