"in earnest" what does it mean?
She picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. what does "in earnest"mean in this sentence?
I have looked it up in the dictionary, it says "If you are in earnest, you are sincere in what you are doing and saying." But it doesn't make sense in the sentence. Does it have other usage or meaning?
The context is a woman found a man near her when she was walking alone streets at night.
Thank you for your answer.

Question

"in earnest" what does it mean?
She picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest.  what does "in earnest"mean in this sentence?
I have looked it up in the dictionary, it says "If you are in earnest, you are sincere in what you are doing and saying." But it doesn't make sense in the sentence. Does it have other usage or meaning?
The context is a woman found a man near her when she was walking alone streets at night.
Thank you for your answer.

Answer

Yes. "In earnest" has a wider meaning, "seriously" or "for real." "She picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest" means that she started by walking faster, but not really running. Then she was soon "running in earnest," not just walking fast, not just jogging, not just trotting, but really running. Running seriously, SINCERELY believing that she was in danger and SINCERELY trying to escape.

Answer

Yes, 'in earnest' means seriously. In this sentence it just means that she began to run faster, making a serious effort to get away from the man.

Answer

Yeah, they are both right. When someone does something "in earnest" it means that they are doing it with more effort or more determination.