EARNESTNESS, noun ern'estness. Ardor or zeal in the pursuit of any thing; eagerness; animated desire; as, to seek or ask with earnestness; to engage in a work with earnestness 1. Anxious care; solicitude; intenseness of desire. 2. Fixed desire or attention; seriousness; as, the charge was maintained with a show of gravity and earnestness
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI