Word · CEFR B1 · Frequency #9569
earnest
认真；诚挚；真诚
Seriousness; sincere intent.
- 1.
Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
严肃；认真的态度；诚挚
- 2.
A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.
预付的定金；由此引申为抵押、保证或某事即将发生的迹象。
- 3.
something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract
为约束合同而由一方给予另一方的有价值的东西
- 4.
Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to joking or pretence)
认真；真实；现实(与玩笑或假装相对)
定金；保证金；押金；严肃；认真的态度；诚挚；预付的定金；由此引申为抵押、保证或某事即将发生的迹象。；为约束合同而由一方给予另一方的有价值的东西；认真；真实；现实(与玩笑或假装相对)
In use
The real estate agent asked for a five-thousand-dollar earnest to hold the property.
We paid an earnest of two months' rent to secure the apartment.
The contract was voided, so the buyer demanded the return of his earnest.
pay an earnest
He paid an earnest of $500 on the car.
他为这辆车支付了500美元定金。
as an earnest of sth
常用于表示象征性的承诺或保证金。
She offered the ring as an earnest of her intention.
她拿出戒指作为她意图的保证。
earnest money
复合名词，常见于房地产交易。
Connections
Collocations
- in earnest
- 认真地；正式地；当真地
- The work began in earnest after the holidays.假期结束后，工作正式认真地开始了。
- in deadly earnest
- 极其认真地；完全当真地
- Suddenly the game turned into a fight in deadly earnest.突然间，游戏变成了一场完全认真的打斗。
- earnest money
- 定金；保证金
- They put down earnest money on the house.他们为这栋房子付了定金。
- an earnest of
- …的保证；…的预兆
- His early work was an earnest of his future success.他早期的作品是他未来成功的预兆。
Idioms & figurative uses
- in earnest
- 认真地；正式地The election campaign begins in earnest tomorrow.竞选活动明天正式开始。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
听“ear”记住earnest：认真聆听（ear）才是诚挚；买房付的“earnest money”定金，代表认真承诺。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：in earnest 固定短语、法律/房产交易（earnest money）、正式/文学性写作（表示严肃、认真） 作名词时，earnest 多用于固定搭配或特定语境。in earnest 在日常和书面语中都较常见，表示‘认真地’；earnest money 是法律/房产等正式场合的‘定金’。单独表示‘严肃、诚挚’时比较正式或文学化，口语中较少直接使用。
Grammar Note
作为‘定金’时为可数名词，有复数形式 earnests。
Pronunciation & Spelling
真正押韵的词是 sternest /ˈstɝnɪst/：它与 earnest /ˈɝnɪst/ 的重读元音及之后读音相同。earn /ɝn/、learn /lɝn/、yearn /jɝn/ 虽拼写含 -earn- 且开头读音相近，但缺少末尾的 /ɪst/，不押韵。honest /ˈɑːnɪst/ 以 -nest 结尾，但重读元音是 /ɑː/，与 /ɝ/ 差别很大。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 2，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.