Meanings
comparative more duteous · superlative most duteous
- archaicdutiful
a duteous son
1 more example
It will be evident, that whatever had been the vexation experienced on this occasion by Lady Anne, she had taken care to give her duteous and unoffending daughters much more than she had received, and which only arose from her own conduct.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXVIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 188 - archaicObsequious; submissively obedient.
I know thee well. A ſeruiceable Villaine, As duteous to the vices of thy Miſtris, As badneſſe would deſire.
c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]1 more example
O Lord, the awful Lord of will! though late, Even yet renew this soul with duteous breath: That when the peace is garnered in from strife, The work retrieved, the will regenerate, This soul may see thy face, O Lord of death!
1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Heart of the Night, lines 10–14
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Irregular combination of duty + -ous.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian покорен, послушен
- покорен (pokoren)obsequious; submissively obedient
- послушен (poslušen)obsequious; submissively obedient
Czech poslušný, uctivý
- poslušnýobsequious; submissively obedient
- uctivýobsequious; submissively obedient
- oddanýobsequious; submissively obedient
Russian послу́шный/поко́рный до́лгу, исполни́тельный
- послу́шный/поко́рный до́лгу (poslúšnyj/pokórnyj dólgu)obsequious; submissively obedient
- исполни́тельный (ispolnítelʹnyj)obsequious; submissively obedient
Swedish underdånig, plikttrogen
- underdånigobsequious; submissively obedient
- plikttrogenobsequious; submissively obedient
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with duteous
All rhymes →Cite this entry
duteous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duteous
“duteous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duteous. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “duteous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/duteous.
Source: duteous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.