undeserving

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌʌndɪˈzɝvɪŋ/ UK /ˌʌndɪˈzɜːvɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Freq #49230

Meanings

1

adj
not worthy of a reward, benefit, punishment, or particular treatment

The committee rejected the claim that struggling families were undeserving of support.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not worthy of a reward,... unworthyunmeritorious

Opposites

deserving worthy meritorious

Word family

Derived forms undeservinglyundeservingness

Related forms deserve merit deserving

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

undeserving poor
poor people judged by others to be unworthy of assistance

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Formed from un- ('not') + deserving, the present participial adjective of deserve. Deserve came through Old French deservir from Latin deservire, 'to serve diligently,' and shifted from earning by service to meriting a reward or consequence.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

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