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
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The willingness of workers to negotiate earnestly for robust retirement benefits, whether with Southwest Airlines, Boeing, or the Big Three automakers, indicates that working Americans would respond favorably to positive moves that would strengthen their financial security in retirement. Dan Doonan, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025 Peters believes Musk has earnestly held reasons for his interest in grooming gangs and is not simply stoking hatred. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2025 Eye contact is the result of earnestly and actively trying to decipher the communication of the other person and ensure that your communication is received. Michael Chad Hoeppner, TIME, 27 Dec. 2024 The script was co-written by the director and Zack Kahn (who also came up with its story) and delivers a grab-bag of earnestly upsetting horror vignettes alongside wacky Christmas nonsense that can fall spectacularly flat. Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for earnestly 

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 20 Jan. 2025.

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