earnestly

English

Etymology

From Middle English ernestly, from Old English eornostlīċe (“earnestly, strictly”), equivalent to earnest +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɝnɪstli/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɜːnɪstli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

earnestly (comparative more earnestly, superlative most earnestly)

1. In an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort.
   • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, “The Good Witch Grants Dorothy’s Wish”, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC, page 256:

     The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion now thanked the Good Witch earnestly for her kindness, […]

   • 1954, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick, “Socrates on Trial: The Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, →OCLC, page 19:

     One thing, however, I do most earnestly beg and entreat of you: […]

   • 1999 April 5, William Safire, “Essay; The Quiet Noisemaker”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 14 September 2017:

     Before long, the unsuspecting salesman was earnestly pitching him "the quietest noisemaker on the market."

   • 2025 February 11, Patrick Reilly, “500-pound rapper suing Lyft over ride denial asks for couch over chair at ‘Breakfast Club’ interview: ‘This is accommodation’”, in New York Post‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 February 2025:

     “This the only seat y’all got?” [Dank] Demoss, who also goes by Dajua Blanding, asks earnestly.

Synonyms

• for real; see also Thesaurus:honestly

Translations

in an earnest manner

• Finnish: hartaasti (fi), vakavasti (fi)
• French: sérieusement (fr)
• Galician: seriamente
• German: ernsthaft (de)
• Latin: certātim
• Romanian: în mod serios, cu seriozitate

Anagrams

• easternly