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, L. Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

     The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman and the Lion now thanked the Good Witch earnestly for her kindness; and Dorothy exclaimed:

   • 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^[1]:

     “This the only seat y’all got?” 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