rightful

[rahyt-fuhl]

adjective

1. having a valid or just claim, as to some property or position; legitimate.

   the rightful owner of the farm.

2. belonging or held by a valid or just claim.

   one's rightful property.

3. equitable or just, as actions or a cause.

4. proper; appropriate; fitting.

rightful

/ ˈraɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. in accordance with what is right; proper or just

2. (prenominal) having a legally or morally just claim

   the rightful owner

3. (prenominal) held by virtue of a legal or just claim

   my rightful property

Other Word Forms

• rightfully adverb
• rightfulness noun
• unrightful adjective
• unrightfully adverb
• unrightfulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rightful¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English; late Old English rihtful; right (noun), -ful

Example Sentences

Three individuals have claimed to have been the rightful owner of the ball, and the matter remains tied up in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour called the US's decision "deeply regrettable and painful", saying it had prevented the Security Council from "playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities".

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They conclude: “We must take back our politics. We need to restore the rightful role of science in our political and societal discourse.”

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The couple insist they are the rightful owners of the artwork, which they had inherited, according to Argentina's La Nacion newspaper.

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And the songwriting is one step up; if you’ve followed her career, you’ll see it as the rightful culmination of her years and years of digging in and continuing to do the work.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• deserved 
• lawful 
• proper