as in respectful
marked by or showing proper regard for another's higher status
the family showed a dutiful deference to their minister when he came to dinner
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Recent Examples of dutiful
Anne needed to grow beyond being a dutiful, persuadable young woman.
—
Brandon Taylor, Time, 17 July 2025
No! Indiscriminate mass deportation of our law abiding, industrious, dutiful neighbors only recently arrived?
—Timothy Cardinal Dolan, New York Daily News, 2 July 2025
Jess’s parasocial fixation culminates in some pat feminist revelations that struck me as at once dutiful and a little too online.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 10 July 2025
Maybe that’s why this latest swing into Greenwich Village comes off as dutiful and perfunctory.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dutiful
Brandon Taylor, Time, 17 July 2025
No! Indiscriminate mass deportation of our law abiding, industrious, dutiful neighbors only recently arrived?
—Timothy Cardinal Dolan, New York Daily News, 2 July 2025
Jess’s parasocial fixation culminates in some pat feminist revelations that struck me as at once dutiful and a little too online.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 10 July 2025
Maybe that’s why this latest swing into Greenwich Village comes off as dutiful and perfunctory.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dutiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dutiful
Adjective
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Strangers to one another, the two women build a quiet, respectful life together, though the reemergence of Betty’s estranged husband and son sheds light on the tragic past that explains the murky present.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
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This false hope can drag out their heartbreak far longer than a direct, respectful rejection might.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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And many advocates are promoting a vision of public health that’s less dependent on mandates and appeals to authority, and more deferent to individuals’ beliefs.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
4 Aug. 2025
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The Ptolemaic model depicted planets moving around Earth in a big circle, known as a deferent, then going around a smaller circle while retrograding, called an epicycle.—
Carlie Procell,
USA TODAY,
25 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Dutiful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dutiful. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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