overearnest

adjective

over·​ear·​nest ˌō-vər-ˈər-nəst 

: excessively earnest or serious

an overearnest scholar

an overearnest expression on his face

If we look back at our own lives, the people who have inspired and shaped us almost always turn out to be the "dull" ones: the thoughtful English teacher, the overearnest priest …

—Martin Townsend

overearnestly adverb

… its portrait of a young country trying overearnestly to connect with its Old World heritage was as poignant as it was humorous.

—Michael Upchurch

overearnestness noun

The film's first act drags on too long, so that by the time its fascinating third act arrives, we are slightly numbed by the overearnestness of the whole affair.

—Colin Dabkowski

Examples of overearnest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The middling monologues, the teary and overearnest speeches, the celebration of cinema through occasionally tacky but still moving montages — these are things people like about the Oscars. —Vulture, 8 Mar. 2023

The movie opens with a pragmatic young woman (Buckley) mulling whether to break up with Jake (Jesse Plemons), her stifling and overearnest boyfriend of seven weeks. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1568, in the meaning defined above