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
Louise ErdrichThey sing contemporary R&B earnestly, like they borrowed it and want to return it in better condition than when they got it.—Danyel Smith
Danyel Smith
Examples of earnestly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On the lawns, where the music roams free along with its listeners, every rule feels relaxed and thus more earnestly respected.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023
Eras asks us to set aside our cynicism and spend four hours earnestly enjoying ourselves.
—Hannah Summerhill, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2023
The affable, knowledgeable Monty Don is the ringmaster of most of the episodes from his garden in Herefordshire, England, surrounded by hornbeam hedges and earnestly trailed by his beloved dogs, Nell, Ned, and Patti.
—Stephen Orr, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
Facebook seems to earnestly wrestle with these questions, but Kneese characterizes its efforts as a shrewd play for user retention.
—Gabriel Nicholas, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023
Half of the men are self-proclaimed Nice Guys earnestly looking for love, and the other half are secretly FBoys focused mainly on winning the $100,000 cash prize.
—Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 27 July 2023
The song is earnestly performed by Ken (Ryan Gosling), who quite literally sings it at Barbie (Margot Robbie) for hours on end while strumming his guitar and sitting around a campfire.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 23 July 2023
In one corner, a group of teenage boys wearing glittery eye shadow clasped their hands in prayer and asked, earnestly, to be taken to church.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
The aural connection to their music is evident, too: evading the strict confines of genre or definition, the series serves to distill an earnestly raw amalgamation of influences (employed with an almost Postmodern sensibility) of the artists’ idiosyncratic languages.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2023
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Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023
Eras asks us to set aside our cynicism and spend four hours earnestly enjoying ourselves.
—Hannah Summerhill, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2023
The affable, knowledgeable Monty Don is the ringmaster of most of the episodes from his garden in Herefordshire, England, surrounded by hornbeam hedges and earnestly trailed by his beloved dogs, Nell, Ned, and Patti.
—Stephen Orr, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
Facebook seems to earnestly wrestle with these questions, but Kneese characterizes its efforts as a shrewd play for user retention.
—Gabriel Nicholas, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023
Half of the men are self-proclaimed Nice Guys earnestly looking for love, and the other half are secretly FBoys focused mainly on winning the $100,000 cash prize.
—Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 27 July 2023
The song is earnestly performed by Ken (Ryan Gosling), who quite literally sings it at Barbie (Margot Robbie) for hours on end while strumming his guitar and sitting around a campfire.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 23 July 2023
In one corner, a group of teenage boys wearing glittery eye shadow clasped their hands in prayer and asked, earnestly, to be taken to church.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
The aural connection to their music is evident, too: evading the strict confines of genre or definition, the series serves to distill an earnestly raw amalgamation of influences (employed with an almost Postmodern sensibility) of the artists’ idiosyncratic languages.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earnestly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of earnestly was
before the 12th century
Dictionary Entries Near earnestly
Cite this Entry
“Earnestly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earnestly. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.
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