be in earnest
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Those imams who still counsel against jihadist terrorism, says Kepel, may be in earnest.
From Time Magazine Archive
In Washington, Reagan Administration officials stressed that the Soviet leader's reform efforts seem to be in earnest, and avoided dashing hopes for better U.S.-Soviet ties.
From Time Magazine Archive
Aben Habuz smiled at first at what he regarded as a humorous sally on the part of the sage; but when he discovered him to be in earnest he waxed wroth.
From Legends & Romances of Spain by Lewis Spence
“Well, I must say,” cried her sister, “he seems to be in earnest, at any rate, even if you are not.”
From The Brute by Frederic Arnold Kummer
You only wish to try me--you cannot be in earnest.
From The Hour Will Come: Volumes I and II A Tale of an Alpine Cloister by Wilhelmine von Hillern
