4 uses
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Definition
characterized by sincere belief
or:
intensely or excessively serious
or:
intensely or excessively serious
- They remind Snowman of his father heading out the door in the morning, briefcase in hand, an earnest aiming-for-the-target frown between his eyes.p. 154.3
- Otherwise they wouldn't have done so much earnest, blameless gazing at each other in Andre's Bistro at OrganInc.p. 66.6
- Some earnest aid worker in a khaki jungle outfit, with netting under the arms and a hundred pockets.p. 97.7
- There was a staged media event, boring because there was no violence — only balding guys with retro tattoos or white patches where they'd been taken off, and severe-looking baggyboobed women, and quite a few overweight or spindly members of marginal, earnest religious groups, in T-shirts with smileyfaced angels flying with birds or Jesus holding hands with a peasant or God Is Green on the front.p. 180.2
There are no more uses of "earnest" in Oryx and Crake.
Typical Usage
(best examples)