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Lively vs Earnest - What's the difference?

lively | earnest | Synonyms |

Lively is a synonym of earnest.


As proper nouns the difference between lively and earnest

is that lively is while earnest is , an occasional spelling variant of ernest.

lively

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) lyvely, lifly, from (etyl) .

Alternative forms

* (l) (obsolete)

Adjective

(er)
  • Full of life; energetic.
  • * 1671 , (John Milton), (Samson Agonistes)
    • But wherefore comes old Manoa in such haste, / With youthful steps? Much livelier than erewhile / He seems.
  • * , chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 29, author=Jon Smith, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Tottenham 3-1 Shamrock Rovers , passage=But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.}}
  • Bright; vivid; glowing; strong; vigorous.
  • * 1704 , (Isaac Newton), (Opticks): Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light
    • The colours of the prism are manifestly more full, intense, and lively that those of natural bodies.
  • * 1688 , (Robert South), Sacramental Preparation: Set forth in a Sermon on Matthew 5, 12.
    • His faith must be not only living, but lively too.
  • (archaic) Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
  • * c. 1600 , (Philemon Holland)
    • chaplets of gold and silver resembling lively flowers and leaves
  • (archaic) Representing life; lifelike.
  • * 1632 , (Philip Massinger) and (Nathan Field), (The Fatal Dowry)
    • I spied the lively picture of my father.
  • (archaic) Airy; animated; spirited.
  • * 1734 , (Alexander Pope), (An Essay on Man)
    • From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
  • (of beer) Fizzy; foamy; tending to produce a large head in the glass.
    • Usage notes
    * Nouns to which "lively" is often applied: person, character, lady, woman, man, audience, personality, art, guide, activity, game, lesson, introduction, discussion, debate, writing, image, town, city, village, etc.
    Derived terms
    * look lively

    Noun

    (livelies)
  • (nautical)
  • * 1846 , (Herman Melville), (Typee)
    • Speak the word, my livelies , and I'll pilot her in.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (obsolete) In a lifelike manner.
  • * , III.i:
    • Him to a dainty flowre she did transmew, / Which in that cloth was wrought, as if it liuely grew.
  • *, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.220-1:
    • the Painter Protogenes .
  • Vibrantly, vividly.

    • Anagrams

    * *

    earnest

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) ernest, eornest, from (etyl) eornest, eornost, .

    Noun

    (-)
  • Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
  • * Sir Philip Sidney
    • Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest .
  • * Shakespeare
    • given in earnest what I begged in jest
  • Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to jesting or feigned appearance); fixed determination; eagerness; intentness.
    • Derived terms
    * earnestful * in earnest

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • 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.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) eornest, from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Serious in speech or action; eager; urgent; importunate; pressing; instant.
  • Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain or do; zealous with sincerity; with hearty endeavour; heartfelt; fervent; hearty; — used in a good sense; as, earnest prayers .
  • Intent; fixed closely; as, earnest attention .
  • Possessing or characterised by seriousness; strongly bent; intent.
    • an earnest disposition
  • Strenuous; diligent.
    • earnest efforts
  • Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; not trifling or feigned; important.
    • Derived terms
    * (l) * (l)

    Etymology 3

    Of uncertain origin; apparently related to (erres). Compare also (l).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.
  • * 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.

    See also

    * Earnest * earnest money

    Anagrams

    * * * *