as in deserved
being what is called for by accepted standards of right and wrong
in light of her admission of having lied, the only rightful course of action for the governor would be to resign
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Recent Examples of rightful
Shiites, however, believed that leadership should stay within the prophet’s family, favoring Ali — the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law — as his rightful successor.
—
Ismaeel Naar, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Victims of tax identity theft can wait up to two years to get their rightful refund, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate.
—Brian Sloan, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2025
Her story, long buried, is now reclaiming its rightful place in American medical history.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Then, to his surprise, the video went viral, capturing the attention of more than 130,000 people — including the rightful owner of the diploma.
—Jordan Greene, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rightful
Ismaeel Naar, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Victims of tax identity theft can wait up to two years to get their rightful refund, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate.
—Brian Sloan, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2025
Her story, long buried, is now reclaiming its rightful place in American medical history.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Then, to his surprise, the video went viral, capturing the attention of more than 130,000 people — including the rightful owner of the diploma.
—Jordan Greene, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rightful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rightful
Adjective
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The rapper was on hand to help celebrate the punk rock trio receiving their much deserved star on the famous Tinseltown walkway along with the likes of Ryan Reynolds, the band’s longtime record executive and producer Rob Cavallo and host Matt Pinfield, all of whom gave speeches at the ceremony.—
Glenn Rowley,
Billboard,
2 May 2025
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In addition to the (deserved) hype around Luka's homecoming, there's plenty of on-court intrigue.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Kelenic's lack of hustle prompted justified anger from fans.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Apr. 2025
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Cronenberg has made a thriller of justified technological paranoia, of the internet’s myriad parasitic intrusions into the human realm.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rightful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rightful. Accessed 8 May. 2025.
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