ear·nest/`ɜnɪst; ˈɜːnɪst/ adj 1 very serious and believing that what you say is important 郑重其事的，认真的: an earnest young man 认真的年轻男人 2 in earnest if something starts happening in earnest, it starts happening properly or seriously 真正地，正式地: On Monday your training begins in earnest! 星期一你的训练就正式开始了！ 3 be in earnest to really mean what you are saying 是认真的，是郑重其事的