different between earnest vs intense

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??n?st/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???n?st/
• Homophone: Ernest

Etymology 1

From Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic ???????????????????????? (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”).

The adjective is from Middle English eornest, from Old English eornoste (“earnest, zealous, serious”), from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian ernste (“earnest”), Middle Low German ernest, ernst (“serious, earnest”), German ernst (“serious, earnest”).

Noun

earnest (uncountable)

1. Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
   • 1914, February 13, The Times, Obituary: Canon Augustus Jessopp

     He wrote well in a forcible, colloquial style, with the air of being tremendously in earnest, and full of knowledge which overflowed his pages, tricked out with somewhat boisterous illustrations.

   • c. 1575-a 1586, Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia

     Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest.

   • c. 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III: Act 5, Scene 1

     That high All-Seer which I dallied with

     Hath turn'd my feigned prayer on my head

     And given in earnest what I begg'd in jest.

2. Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to joking or pretence)

Derived terms

• earnestful
• in earnest

Translations

Verb

earnest (third-person singular simple present earnests, present participle earnesting, simple past and past participle earnested)

1. (transitive) To be serious with; use in earnest.
   • 1602, Pastor Fido:

     Let's prove among ourselves our armes in jest, That when we come to earnest them with men, We may them better use.

Adjective

earnest (comparative earnester or more earnest, superlative earnestest or most earnest)

1. (said of an action or an utterance) Serious or honest
2. (with a positive sense) Focused in the pursuit of an objective; eager to obtain or do.

3. Intent; focused; showing a lot of concentration.

4. (said of a person or a person's character) Possessing or characterised by seriousness.

5. Strenuous; diligent.

6. Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; important.

Derived terms

• earnestly
• earnestness
• in earnest

Translations

Etymology 2

Of uncertain origin; apparently related to erres. Compare also arles.

Noun

earnest (plural earnests)

1. A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.

   • Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 365:

     But if all this was viewed by Gladstone and the Cabinet as an earnest of St Petersburg's future good intentions in Central Asia, then disillusionment was soon to follow.

Translations

See also

• Earnest
• earnest money

Etymology 3

earn +? -est

Verb

earnest

1. (archaic) second-person singular simple present form of earn

Anagrams

• Eastern, Saetern, Tareens, eastern, estrane, nearest, renates, sterane

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French intense, from Latin intensus (“stretched tight”), past participle of intendere (“to stretch out”), from in (“in, upon, to”) + tendere (“to stretch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?t?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Adjective

intense (comparative intenser or more intense, superlative intensest or most intense)

1. Strained; tightly drawn.
2. Strict, very close or earnest.
3. Extreme in degree; excessive.
4. Extreme in size or strength.
5. Stressful and tiring.
6. Very severe.
7. Very emotional or passionate.

Derived terms

Related terms

• intensive

Translations

Further reading

• intense in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• intense in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• intense at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• enseint, sentine, tennesi, tennies

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

intense

1. Inflected form of intens

Anagrams

• niesten

French

Etymology

From Middle French intense. Ultimately from Latin intensus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.t??s/

Adjective

intense (plural intenses)

1. intense

Related terms

Further reading

• “intense” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• seinent, tiennes

Interlingua

Adjective

intense (comparative plus intense, superlative le plus intense)

1. intense

Related terms

• intensitate

Italian

Adjective

intense f pl

1. feminine plural of intenso

Anagrams

• sentine

Latin

Adjective

int?nse

1. vocative masculine singular of int?nsus

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

intense

1. inflection of intens:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

intense

1. inflection of intens:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural