as in intentness
a mental state free of jesting or trifling
practiced the art of acting with great earnestness
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Recent Examples of earnestness
Taparjan’s voiceover fills the soundtrack with the same earnestness.
—
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 20 Mar. 2026
The violent earnestness is like a speaker-phone therapy session on a crowded subway.
—Samuel Hyland, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
That thread of earnestness in the plot and character development definitely makes its way into the finale.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
Advertisement Reggie Dinkins shares an earnestness with Every Brilliant Thing.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
Frank, played with endearing earnestness by Bale, is more of a big softie than a monster.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
The Scream series emerged during the age of the New Irony, survived the ensuing New Sincerity, and made it through several other civilizational cycles of earnestness and self-awareness before landing here in today’s era of Nothing Matters and Everything Sucks.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The fashion for bushy beards, and beards’ association with authentic manliness, has followed this same trajectory from irony to earnestness during its various resurgences since the early 19th century.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
But there’s something about his demeanor, his earnestness, his character that has won over teammates and coaching staffs throughout the Tampa Bay system.
—John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2026
Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 20 Mar. 2026
The violent earnestness is like a speaker-phone therapy session on a crowded subway.
—Samuel Hyland, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
That thread of earnestness in the plot and character development definitely makes its way into the finale.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
Advertisement Reggie Dinkins shares an earnestness with Every Brilliant Thing.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
Frank, played with endearing earnestness by Bale, is more of a big softie than a monster.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
The Scream series emerged during the age of the New Irony, survived the ensuing New Sincerity, and made it through several other civilizational cycles of earnestness and self-awareness before landing here in today’s era of Nothing Matters and Everything Sucks.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The fashion for bushy beards, and beards’ association with authentic manliness, has followed this same trajectory from irony to earnestness during its various resurgences since the early 19th century.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
But there’s something about his demeanor, his earnestness, his character that has won over teammates and coaching staffs throughout the Tampa Bay system.
—John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for earnestness
Noun
-
Despite the bitter path to this threshold—the debate started in earnest in 1915—almost no one cheered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
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The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, started in earnest on March 10 with opening statements, and three other accusers are poised to testify, the New York Times reported.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That is the highest-level designation for severe accidents, placing it alongside the fatal Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) shuttle disasters in terms of gravity.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The Moon is exceptionally large compared with Earth for a natural satellite, and at only 30 Earth-diameters away from the Earth, its gravity is significant enough to be the dominant factor in determining the oceanic tides that our planet experiences.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It's done with such seriousness and attention to detail you’d almost be convinced this moon mission succeeded 19 years before Apollo 11's monumental landing.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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At her presser, the Sacramento Bee's Joe Davidson asked Staley about wearing Johnson's shirt and balancing fun with seriousness.—
Megan Armstrong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Earnestness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/earnestness. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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