rightful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈraɪtfəl/ UK /ˈraɪtfl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
having a legitimate or just claim; legally entitled

The estate was finally returned to its rightful owner.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having a legitimate or just... legitimate lawful just proper legal due valid

Opposites

wrongful illegitimate unlawful unjust

Word family

Forms rightfulness

Derived forms rightfullyrightfulness

Related forms right righteous rightly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

rightful king
the person who has the legitimate hereditary claim to the throne

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Old English rihtful, from riht ('right, just') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ('to straighten, direct').

riht Old English *h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# rightful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈraɪtfəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈraɪtfl/

## Meanings
1. having a legitimate or just claim; legally entitled

## Examples
- The estate was finally returned to its rightful owner.

## Synonyms
- legitimate
- lawful
- just
- proper
- legal
- due
- valid

## Antonyms
- wrongful
- illegitimate
- unlawful
- unjust

## Derived Forms
- rightfully
- rightfulness

## Related Forms
- right
- righteous
- rightly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: riht
- Root: *h₃reǵ-

## Etymology
From Old English rihtful, from riht ('right, just') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ('to straighten, direct').

## AI Etymology
Rightful comes from Old English rihtful, from riht ('right, just') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- ('to straighten, direct'). The historical trail runs through Old English riht and Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means having a legitimate or just claim; legally entitled. Derived formations include rightfully, rightfulness; related forms include right, righteous, rightly.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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