dutiful Hear it!

dutiful Definition

du·ti·ful (do̵̅o̅t′i fəl, dyo̵̅o̅t′-)

adjective

  1. showing, or resulting from, a sense of duty
  2. having a proper sense of duty; obedient

Related Forms:

dutiful Synonyms

dutiful

modif.

devoted, respectful, conscientious; see faithful, obedient 1.

dutiful Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • wife: At first she played her role as a dutiful wife, but then her husband admitted that he had a male lover.
  • daughter: I was a dutiful daughter on the whole, wasn't I?
  • son: The dutiful son laughed his mother's correspondence to scorn.
  • child: At times he feels he is letting his parents down: a dutiful child should remember being cared for from the first.
  • husband: During the week he is the dutiful husband to his Indian born wife and loving father to his two children.
  • epidemiologist: Watch out for dutiful epidemiologists proving that it causes every known ill of mankind, as do tobacco and alcohol.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: He comes across as a very dutiful, law-abiding citizen with the best interests of his traveling passengers at heart.
  • merely: While some of the pictures are merely dutiful scene-setting, others are exciting enhancements of the story ( cf. the Hound of the Baskervilles!