dutifully

[doo-tuh-flee, dyoo-]

adverb

1. 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

• quasi-dutifully adverb
• undutifully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of dutifully¹

dutiful ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The audience dutifully booed at the mention of the Reform UK leader's name but speaking to Tory members afterwards, it was clear many feel uncomfortable about these kind of attacks.

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Look at how dutifully Safdie and Johnson have worked to re-create this world, the movie seems to be saying.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Fox News dutifully claims this is all about “crime” — ignoring that the agents sent onto the streets are mostly harassing ordinary people, while ignoring actual crime.

Read more on Salon

In their mutually reinforcing preparations to annihilate one another, erase the past and foreclose the possibility of future generations, he concluded, “the superpowers have dutifully embraced this legacy…Adolf Hitler lives on.”

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Faith, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, had dutifully laughed along at the bad jokes made by her bosses.

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Related Words

• accurately 
• correctly www.thesaurus.com
• decently www.thesaurus.com
• duly 
• equally 
• equitably 
• honestly 
• honorably www.thesaurus.com
• impartially 
• lawfully www.thesaurus.com
• legally www.thesaurus.com
• legitimately www.thesaurus.com
• properly 
• reasonably www.thesaurus.com
• rightfully www.thesaurus.com
• rightly