Definitions: (1) serious and intense mental focus; (2) deeply convinced; sincere
Derivation: German, “zeal,” “vigor”
Synonyms: ardent, eager, urgent, warm
Balancing Qualities: humor, light
Quotes:
• Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute! Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated. Begin, and then the work will be completed. — Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (1910–1987) French dramatist
• It was not any grace in me, but God that put this earnest care into my heart, that I should be one of the hunters or fishers whom long ago God foreshowed would come in due time. — Saint Patrick (fifth-century ad) Romano-British Christian missionary