All 7 Uses of
earnest
in
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
- She never knew precisely what to make of it; at that moment it was impossible for her to guess how much of it was jest and what proportion was earnest.†
Chpt 5earnest = sincere or serious
- But they were greatly in earnest.†
Chpt 5in earnest = serious; or in a serious manner
- He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed his suit with an earnestness and an ardor which left nothing to be desired.†
Chpt 7 *earnestness = sincerity or seriousness
- I'm in earnest; I mean what I say.†
Chpt 8in earnest = serious; or in a serious manner
- They played a duet from "Zampa," and at the earnest solicitation of every one present followed it with the overture to "The Poet and the Peasant."†
Chpt 9earnest = sincere or serious
- He spoke with an animation and earnestness that gave an exaggerated importance to every syllable he uttered.†
Chpt 18earnestness = sincerity or seriousness
- Victor had lost all idea of courtesy, or else he thought his hostess was not in earnest, for he laughed and went on: "Ah!†
Chpt 30in earnest = serious; or in a serious manner
Definitions:
-
(1)
(earnest) characterized by sincere belief
or:
intensely or excessively serious or determined -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Earnest can also be used as a name (variant spelling of Ernest), or to signify the seriousness of a pledge made (as when earnest money is included with an offer to purchase a home).