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

But movie theaters only began adopting the strategy in earnest in 2019, with the release of AMC’s R2-D2 popcorn bucket when The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters. —Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 26 Nov. 2024

My delusions of homeownership in Rockaway began, in earnest, with a 100-year-old Victorian. —Laura Thompson, Curbed, 22 Nov. 2024

The narrative of Night Is Not Eternal begins in earnest around 2017, when a protest action compels Payá to return to Havana from Miami. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Nov. 2024

The oil field sent its first tanker of oil back to shore in 1951 and construction began in earnest on the city. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 6 Nov. 2024