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

Silver said previously that expansion would likely be at least two teams and that the process would begin in earnest at some point this season. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 28 Mar. 2025

Now that the first production version of One has taken flight, the company plans to start rolling them out in earnest. —Michael Franco, New Atlas, 28 Mar. 2025

If only there were a person uniquely situated to bring these judges to heel and bring the crisis to a halt, thus re-legitimizing the judiciary in earnest. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025

Other Top Seeds in the Midwest Tennessee is the No. 2 seed, Kentucky is No. 3 and Purdue is No. 4 in the Midwest, which will get started in earnest on Thursday with six of its eight games. —Jack Magruder, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025

Rhymes for in earnest

• internist
• sternest