What does undutiful mean?
Undutiful is a rare, chiefly literary adjective meaning not dutiful: failing to meet a duty of obedience, loyalty, care, or devotion. Because duty is a moral as well as a practical concept, the word suggests a failure of responsibility rather than a simple mistake. In older writing it could characterize a disobedient child, a disloyal servant, or a spouse who failed in marital obligations, though such contexts now sound deliberately period. Modern writers usually choose disobedient, disloyal, neglectful, or irresponsible, which are more precise for particular failures. Undutiful remains useful when the emphasis lies on a person's general failure to honor an obligation. It is occasionally encountered in moral, religious, or dramatic prose, but it is not a common everyday criticism. Its transparent formation from un- plus dutiful also makes it easy to interpret once encountered.
adjectiveNot dutiful; failing to observe a duty of obedience, loyalty, care, or devotion.
- Failing to fulfill a duty, especially a duty of obedience, loyalty, care, or devotion.
"The old play portrays an undutiful son who betrays his father's trust."
"The minister resigned after his undutiful concealment of the error."
"She was portrayed as an undutiful wife in the play's opening scene."
A single “un-” turns a social obligation into a moral failure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does undutiful come from?
Undutiful was formed in early 17th-century English by combining the negative prefix un- with dutiful. The family ultimately derives from Old French deuete and Latin debitum, meaning a debt or obligation, from debere, “to owe.” Related English forms include duty, dutiful, and duteous.
Related word forms
How undutiful is actually used
Chiefly literary, archaic, or deliberately formal; now uncommon in ordinary speech. It usually carries a strong moral judgment rather than merely indicating carelessness.
Easily confused with undutiful
A dutiful person fulfills their obligations, whereas an undutiful person fails to do so.