earnestly

adverb

ear·​nest·​ly ˈər-nəst-lē How to pronounce earnestly (audio)
: 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 Jewel tones and chiaroscuro styling don’t seem like an obvious fit for a story that earnestly imagines a little boy having his heart injected with gasoline. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 June 2024 My Bengali grandparents came of age as enthusiastic followers of Gandhi’s independence movement; a family photo from 1940 captures my grandfather as a young economist talking earnestly to the Mahatma at an institute dedicated to rural development. Maya Jasanoff, The New Yorker, 19 June 2024 In other interviews, Fonda has spoken earnestly about their friendship, while Tomlin has offered a joke instead. Makena Gera, Peoplemag, 16 June 2024 Others whose temporary suspensions have been lifted claimed that their posts are still being throttled, though, and Kennedy's lawyers earnestly insisted that an exchange with Meta's chatbot proves it. Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 16 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for earnestly 

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 30 Jun. 2024.

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