How to Use earnest in a Sentence

earnest

1 of 2 adjective
  • I'll accept only an earnest apology from you.
  • But then her tone turns more earnest.
    — Alison Syrett Cleary, Architectural Digest, 14 Jan. 2026
  • My most earnest goal is to make the most of that gift.
    — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Evie had asked, her voice coming out far too earnest and loud.
    — Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Summer begins in earnest and spring bids adieu.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
  • The project’s origin story is just as earnest.
    — Jeff Miller, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2026
  • So yes, my most earnest and perennial goal is to make my mom laugh.
    — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Look, there’s something deeply earnest and hopeful about the show.
    — David Amsden, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
  • An earnest, down-to-earth attitude, say the founders.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 26 June 2026
  • Vance is a more earnest character.
    — Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 19 May 2026
  • The earnest words met wintry silence.
    — Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026
  • His songs have an earnest, up-with-people vibe that appeals to young fans.
    — Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle, 23 Mar. 2026
  • So, talk about an earnest sentiment.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Instead, Jawan chooses to take the far more earnest route.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Once the sun sets, looting and burning and killing begin in earnest.
    — Daniel Voll, Esquire, 18 June 2012
  • The young man was earnest, asking about how credit works and buying a home.
    — Rachel Uranga, Anchorage Daily News, 10 June 2023
  • The good news is that the rebuilding process started in earnest about two months ago.
    — Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Her music seemed of a more earnest, innocent time.
    — Allison P. Davis, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
  • And a lovely, earnest guy who clearly adores his mother.
    — Claire Danes, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Yet in Season 3, the war is set to begin in earnest.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 June 2026
  • The work is light and dark, solid and liquid, empty and busy, earnest and tongue in cheek.
    — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
  • You get cringed out when things are earnest or something, but then the music is a way to channel it.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
  • No offense to Goddard, but the man is nothing if not earnest.
    — Angela Watercutter, WIRED, 5 Apr. 2024
  • As the audience closed in, the room became smaller and more earnest.
    — Cierra Black, Essence, 14 Feb. 2024
  • The people in it are depicted as messy, earnest, and trying their best.
    — Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The attempt to strike some more earnest dramatic notes later on don’t quite land.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 20 Sep. 2025
  • But there’s also something earnest in it, in a very seventies way.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Flat, calm but earnest, mildly anxious, blunted, volatile.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Mary was the one who tried too hard at piano practice and still thumped the piano, the one who was too earnest.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Democrats are getting tired of bearing the burden of being earnest.
    — Abdul El-Sayed, The New Republic, 3 Nov. 2022

earnest

2 of 2 noun
  • Then the Dodgers’ bats heated up in earnest.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
  • Then, the moms and daughters ring the bell, and the party begins in earnest.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 17 June 2026
  • The crackdown may only be starting in earnest.
    — Juanita Goebertus, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
  • The battle for control of the living room just began in earnest.
    — David Streitfeld, New York Times, 18 May 2016
  • The journey starts in earnest in September, when the team hosts Nigeria for two friendlies.
    — Anne M. Peterson, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 July 2022
  • Curtis began acting in earnest in the 1980s.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 30 May 2026
  • With 58 minutes gone, Buendia turned provider for Rogers to start the party in earnest.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 20 May 2026
  • While the high will hover close to 90 on Monday, the heat could hit in earnest on Tuesday.
    — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 8 May 2026
  • Whole economies bank on the flurry of purchases that begin in earnest on Black Friday.
    — Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Dec. 2022
  • The team begins practice in earnest during the second session of summer school in early July.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2026
  • Construction starts in earnest toward the end of this year and is expected to be completed by the start of 2028.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN, 26 Mar. 2023
  • Full team training with members of Canada’s likely starting XI will get underway this week in earnest.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 25 May 2026
  • Kim, who grew up in Busan and studied at the Sorbonne, explained that Oh hadn’t painted in earnest until his sixties.
    — E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Now with Paulette elegant by his side, Henri’s social ascendancy begins in earnest.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 20 May 2026
  • The Men’s March Madness tournament starts in earnest on Tuesday, March 17.
    — Sacbee.com, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Semiconductor stocks — Chip manufacturers slid as the tech sell-off resumed in earnest on Tuesday.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 9 June 2026
  • Those decisions need to be made in earnest before the combine, to facilitate the relevant conversations with agents and rival teams.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 19 May 2026
  • Noma’s closing comes as restaurants struggle with rising food and labor costs, which began in earnest with the pandemic and have continued with inflation.
    — Michelle Cheng, Quartz, 10 Jan. 2023
  • There's also a coordinated campaign strategy — the largest effort the state has seen in a decade — that will kick off in earnest once Tuesday's primaries are over.
    — Stephen Fowler, NPR, 31 May 2026
  • Roscosmos begins rocket advertising in earnest.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 22 May 2026
  • This started in earnest in May of 2025 but has become more widespread and frequent since April of 2026.
    — Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
  • Now fast-forward several decades, to the replay-review era, which began in earnest in 2013 and has woven itself into the fabric of the game.
    — Devin Gordon, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2023
  • The most immediate question is whether the British can map out in advance their negotiating partners’ positions before the talks start in earnest.
    — Stephen Fidler, WSJ, 6 Oct. 2016
  • Research into using sodium for batteries began in earnest in the 1970s, led then by the United States.
    — Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Like any new technology, the carbon nanotube will merge onto the computing technology highway only if chipmakers decide to take it up in earnest.
    — Max Shulaker, IEEE Spectrum, 30 June 2016
  • Behind her back, her bosses began negotiating a secret plea deal in earnest with Epstein’s lawyers in July 2007.
    — Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
  • Factoring in all these efforts, Smith said earnings growth will start to outpace sales starting in fiscal 2027, which begins in earnest in October of this year.
    — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 28 Apr. 2026
  • If policy makers had passed laws to clearly define what counts as a sustainable textile and forced all brands to reveal information about their factories and wages, responsible companies could compete in earnest.
    — Elizabeth Cline, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
  • Then the festival gets going in earnest on July 17 with workshops on everything from instrumental performance to dancing, painting and cooking.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2023
  • The Japanese investor, who was used to fielding similar inquiries from company leaders, was intrigued by an approach made directly by a head of state and started reviewing the matter in earnest.
    — Benoit Berthelot, Fortune, 30 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'earnest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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