EARNESTNESS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does earnestness mean? 

• EARNESTNESS (noun)
  The noun EARNESTNESS has 2 senses:

1. an earnest and sincere feeling

2. the trait of being serious

  Familiarity information: EARNESTNESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EARNESTNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An earnest and sincere feeling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

earnestness; seriousness; sincerity

Hypernyms ("earnestness" is a kind of...):

gravity; solemnity (a solemn and dignified feeling)

Derivation:

earnest (sincerely earnest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The trait of being serious

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

earnestness; serious-mindedness; seriousness; sincerity

Context example:

a lack of solemnity is not necessarily a lack of seriousness

Hypernyms ("earnestness" is a kind of...):

trait (a distinguishing feature of your personal nature)

Attribute:

serious (concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities)

frivolous (not serious in content or attitude or behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "earnestness"):

commitment; committedness (the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose)

graveness; gravity; soberness; sobriety; somberness; sombreness (a manner that is serious and solemn)

sedateness; solemness; solemnity; staidness (a trait of dignified seriousness)

Derivation:

earnest (not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal)

earnest (characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions)

 Context examples 

I am glad to dwell upon the earnestness and love with which she lifted up her face to mine, and did so.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She endeavoured to secure Jane in her interest; but Jane, with all possible mildness, declined interfering; and Elizabeth, sometimes with real earnestness, and sometimes with playful gaiety, replied to her attacks.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Before, he had hunted in play, for the sheer joyousness of it; now he hunted in deadly earnestness, and found nothing.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"Not asleep, but so happy, dear. See, I found this and read it. I knew you wouldn't care. Have I been all that to you, Jo?" she asked, with wistful, humble earnestness.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

A calm, subdued triumph, blent with a longing earnestness, marked his enunciation of the last glorious verses of that chapter.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He leaned forward with great earnestness.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was such earnestness, such despair, in her manner that her words arrested me, and I stood irresolute before the door.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The two horses came up close to me, looking with great earnestness upon my face and hands.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The young clerk smiled at his companion's earnestness.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I remember that he swayed his reeking pipe in the earnestness of his prayer, so that I was half tears and half smiles as I watched him.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)