earnest money vs earnest

earnest money and earnest both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
earnest money	Yes	No	No	No
earnest	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, earnest is a hypernym of earnest money; that is, earnest is a word with a broader meaning than earnest money:

earnest money: money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract
earnest: something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

earnest money (noun)	earnest (noun)
money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a contract	something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

earnest money (adjective)	earnest (adjective)
	not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal
	characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
	sincerely earnest