ear・nest^１ /nst ｜ -/→ adj. 1 まじめな, 本気の, 真剣な (⇒serious SYN). ・an earnest endeavor. ・an earnest person. ・very earnest eyes とても真剣なまなざし. 2 熱心な. ・an earnest Christian. ・an earnest prayer. ・It is my earnest desire [wish] to do [that]… …するのが[…が]私の熱望するところだ. 3 〈事物が〉まじめに考慮すべき, (極めて)重大な. ・Life is earnest. 人生は厳粛だ (cf. Longfellow, A Psalm of Life). n. まじめ, 本気 (jest).　★通例次の句で: in arnest まじめに, 本気で; 本式に. ・Are you speaking in jest or in earnest? 冗談なのかそれとも本気なのか. ・Are you in earnest about this? そのことは本気なのか. ・It began to rain in earnest. 本降りになってきた. in god [ral, sber, dad, dadly] arnest 実に真剣に, 大まじめで. ・He came at me in dead earnest. 全く本気で私にかかってきた. ・He took my joke in deadly earnest. 私の冗談を大まじめに取った. n.: OE eornost ardor in battle, zeal ＜ Gmc arn(ja)ost (G Ernst earnest) ← ? IE er- to set in motion. ― adj.: OE eornest(e) ← (n.)