dutifully en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree English dutiful Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English dutifully From dutiful + -ly.
Meanings
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With a regard to duty; in a dutiful manner.
For entirely self-serving reasons, ministers and civil servants never dispelled the public belief that uncaring 'fat cat' privateers or foreign state railways were in control, ramping up fares and creaming off profits which either enriched shareholders or subsidised European rail fares. DfT left train operators to 'take the heat' - which they dutifully did, fearful of speaking up and 'biting the hand that feeds'.
2020 September 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: We MUST seize the moment”, in Rail, page 3:22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club Cabin Boyhttp://www.avclub.com/articles/cabin-boy,71269/ When news arrives that the school must graduate Nathanial to official “Fancy Lad” status early and put him on the Queen Catherine first class to run the Mayweather in Hawaii, the headmaster dutifully complies, but Nathanial gets in a few parting shots on his way out the door.
Ives, who is better known for sliminess than courage, approached Samson who was dutifully attending his feudal lord Grouty as usual[…]
1979, Paul Ableman, Porridge: The Inside Story, page 90:The stereotypical image of the Jain renunciant is a monk (or possibly nun) dutifully sweeping the ground gently before him with a small broom […].
2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 10:But most Israeli mechanics say "breaks," with the "r" sound dutifully transformed from the American dog-barking noise to an upscale Frenchlike trill.
2000, Adam M Garfinkle, Politics and society in modern Israel: myths and realities:Dutifully socking away a chunk of your salary each month may seem like a surefire path to a comfortable retirement. But there are plenty of ways you could be sabotaging that savings.
2014 August 6, Melanie Hicken, “5 big retirement mistakes”, in CNN Money, archived from the original on 19 Apr 2025:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dutiefully | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| more dutifully | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most dutifully | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Synonyms
righteously · becomingly · virtuously · reverently · fitly · compliantly · rightly · correctly · conformably · obediently · decorously · chastely · dutifully · duly · agreeably · suitably · duteously · meritoriously · respectfully · worthily · accordingly · morally · consistently · deservingly · decently · accordantly · continently · nobly · modestly · duteously · right-mindedly · rightly · appropriately · properly · becomingly · submissively
Translations (10)
fi tunnollisesti (in a dutiful manner) · et kohusetundlikult (in a dutiful manner) · ru исполни́тельно (in a dutiful manner) · fi vastuullisesti (in a dutiful manner) · fi kuuliaisesti (in a dutiful manner) · pl sumiennie (in a dutiful manner) · fr attentivement (in a dutiful manner) · fr consciencieusement (in a dutiful manner) · fr scrupuleusement (in a dutiful manner) · fr soigneusement (in a dutiful manner)