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
Years in the making While the festivities in central Washington, D.C. this weekend have only been in the works, in earnest, for a little over a month, launched by President Donald Trump in the first few months of his second term, the 2026 semiquincentennial has been years in the making.
—
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 14 June 2025
Despite the bombardment, Washington believes the Kremlin’s retaliation for Ukraine’s drone strike on Russian bombers last weekend hasn’t yet happened in earnest, Reuters reported.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 June 2025
In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, set on modernizing his nation, restored diplomatic relations between the countries, and Chinese students began arriving in earnest.
—Michael Luo, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
As soon as Musk and Trump began bashing one another in earnest on Thursday, the GOP base immediately started agitating in three big directions.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for in earnest
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Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 14 June 2025
Despite the bombardment, Washington believes the Kremlin’s retaliation for Ukraine’s drone strike on Russian bombers last weekend hasn’t yet happened in earnest, Reuters reported.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 10 June 2025
In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, set on modernizing his nation, restored diplomatic relations between the countries, and Chinese students began arriving in earnest.
—Michael Luo, New Yorker, 8 June 2025
As soon as Musk and Trump began bashing one another in earnest on Thursday, the GOP base immediately started agitating in three big directions.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for in earnest
Cite this Entry
“In earnest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20earnest. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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