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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dutiful
Indiscriminate mass deportation of our law abiding, industrious, dutiful neighbors only recently arrived?
—
Connor Greene, Time, 18 Dec. 2025
Even mostly market-rate buildings are afflicted by an air of dutiful efficiency.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Dec. 2025
The dutiful officer put the query up the ranks.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2025
Pfeiffer plays Claire Clauster, an overwhelmed and dutiful mother who hopes to compete in Tims’s Holiday Mom contest.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dutiful
Connor Greene, Time, 18 Dec. 2025
Even mostly market-rate buildings are afflicted by an air of dutiful efficiency.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Dec. 2025
The dutiful officer put the query up the ranks.
—Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 7 Dec. 2025
Pfeiffer plays Claire Clauster, an overwhelmed and dutiful mother who hopes to compete in Tims’s Holiday Mom contest.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dutiful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dutiful
Adjective
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Attorney Manuel Carednas, who represented Villegas-Gonzalez in two of those cases, said his client, while undocumented, was respectful, hardworking and compliant with all court instructions regarding his traffic violations.—
Dave Savini,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
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This said, the movers were very polite and respectful and removed all of the excess packing.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
7 Jan. 2026
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 10 Jan. 2026.
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