Synonyms

dutifully

American

[doo-tuh-flee, dyoo-] / ˈdu tə fli, ˈdju- /

adverb

in a way that is required by moral or legal obligation, societal or cultural expectations, or a person’s position or occupation.

She dutifully registered to vote and received her ballot.
The player was stunned by the trade, but he dutifully reported to Cleveland after a decade in the Manhattan limelight.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of dutifully

dutiful ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, and Mako and Billy Vunipola dutifully served out a single-season spell in the second tier.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Powlowski also defended the committee against accusations of bias, telling the Star that members have "dutifully listened to both sides".

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Columnists Gustavo Arellano, Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria took in all 120 minutes, absorbed every zinger — scripted and otherwise — and dutifully observed each parry and thrust.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

For many years after his son Frances’s death, Franklin dutifully recorded statistics on outbreaks throughout the colonies to demonstrate that smallpox acquired by inoculation was safer than that received in the “natural” way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

I’d quickly written up a piece about harvest and dutifully sent that in.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023