All 3 Uses of
earnest
in
A Thousand Acres
- Toward dusk, I began going around and picking up paper plates, and I noticed a little group, including Rose and Caroline, as well as Ty and Pete, clustered on Harold's back porch, with my father talking earnestly at the center.†
p. 18.7 *earnestly = sincerely or seriously
- He came toward me with an earnest smile.†
p. 210.7earnest = sincere or serious
- Compared to him, Ken LaSalle was an earnest bumbler.†
p. 282.1
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).