in earnest
in earnest {adv.} or {adj. phr.}
Seriously; in a determined way.
The beaver was building his dam in earnest.
Bill did his homework in earnest.
- Often used like a predicate adjective. Sometimes used with "dead", for emphasis.
Betty's friends thought she was joking when she said she wanted to be a doctor, but she was in dead earnest.
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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms
