# earnest vs earnestly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### earnest
*noun · IPA /ˈɝ.nɪst/ · frequency rank #11,884*
Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.

### earnestly
*adverb · IPA /ˈɝnɪstli/ · frequency rank #34,033*
In an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/earnest-vs-earnestly