earnest

1. 1.

   something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

   Broadersecurity

   Narrowerearnest money

Other forms of earnest

plural

earnests·

comparative

earnester·

superlative

earnestest·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about earnest

What does earnest mean?

earnest means "characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in earnest?

earnest has 2 syllables: ear-nest. The stress falls on "ear". In IPA it is /ˈɝnɪst/.

What is another word for earnest?

Close synonyms include sincere, solemn, dear, devout, heartfelt. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is earnest a common word?

earnest is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.