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

Following his funeral, preparations can begin in earnest to launch the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, a conclave that will likely begin in the first week of May. —Nicole Winfield and Colleen Barry, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025

The transition began in earnest a little over four years ago, prompted by COVID-19, which pushed huge amounts of human interaction onto screens and raised the demand for captioning. —David Owen, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025

Once back in Lille, Bentaleb’s rehabilitation began in earnest. —Tom Williams, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025

Investors who spent all weekend hoping for some kind of policy reversal on tariffs realized that none was coming, and sold off across asset classes in earnest. —Ben Berkowitz, Axios, 6 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for in earnest

• internist
• sternest