earnest

/ˈɜːnɪst/ adj. / n.
标准词条 CET-4
一句话记住

认真的；诚挚的；真诚的；严肃；认真；定金；保证金

释义与例句

adj. 认真的；诚挚的；真诚的
showing sincere and serious feeling, or doing something with great seriousness and commitment
  1. She gave me an earnest promise that she would never tell anyone.
    她郑重地向我保证永远不会告诉任何人。
  2. His earnest efforts to help the community were deeply appreciated.
    他为帮助社区所做的真诚努力得到了深切的感激。
展开其余 1 条例句
  1. The students listened to the lecture with earnest attention.
    学生们专心致志地听讲座。
n. 严肃；认真；定金；保证金
a serious and sincere quality, or money paid as a deposit to show that one is serious about an agreement
  1. In earnest, the real work began only after the funding was approved.
    说真的，真正的工作是在资金获批之后才开始的。
  2. They paid an earnest of ten percent when signing the contract.
    签合同时他们支付了百分之十的定金。
展开其余 1 条例句
  1. Her tears were in earnest, and everyone in the room fell silent.
    她的眼泪是真诚的，房间里所有人都沉默了。

词源与构词

记忆钩子 earnest 作形容词常修饰 promise、effort、attention；名词常见短语 in earnest 表示“认真地、真正地”，earnest money 指合同定金。

词族与关联词

同义词
  • sincere 真诚的；诚恳的
    earnest 强调态度认真、严肃，甚至带有庄重感；sincere 强调内心真诚、不虚假，搭配 apologies、thanks、belief 更常见。
    Please accept my sincere apologies for the mistake. 对于这个错误，请接受我真诚的道歉。
易混词（形近或义近，注意区别）
  • honest 诚实的；正直的
    earnest 侧重态度认真诚恳；honest 侧重说话、做事诚实不欺骗。earnest 不要误写成 earnest（少一个 n）或与 earnest money（定金）混淆。
    To be honest, I don't think the plan will work. 说实话，我觉得这个计划行不通。
常见搭配
  • in earnest 认真地；真正地
    After the warning, the rescue work began in earnest. 收到预警后，救援工作真正认真地展开了。
  • earnest money 定金；保证金
    The buyer put down earnest money to secure the house. 买方付了定金以锁定这套房子。
  • earnest request 恳切的请求
    She made an earnest request for more time to finish the report. 她恳切地请求多给些时间完成报告。