How to Use rightful in a Sentence

rightful

adjective
Definition of rightfulnext
Synonyms for rightfulnext
  • He will be given his rightful place in the history books.
  • The property should be returned to its rightful owner.
  • But Djokovic had things to do and a rightful place in his 36th Grand Slam final.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2023
  • The process to find the gravestone's rightful home was a long one, said Stanaway.
    — Lauren M. Johnson and Christina Zdanowicz, CNN, 24 Sep. 2021
  • There isn’t any there in there to guide the AI toward the rightful path and away from the wrongful path.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2022
  • Both Hoekstra and Karamo now claim to be the rightful party chair.
    — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 7 Feb. 2024
  • That should give pause as the rightful excitement grows about the Bowie group this year.
    — Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 7 June 2021
  • Someone with a rightful claim to the Iron Throne who aims to free people and take her place as the one queen to rule them all.
    — WIRED, 25 Oct. 2022
  • But the pearlies argue over which group is the rightful caretaker of the pearly legacy.
    — Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Apr. 2023
  • Carlile has done plenty to help her friend and idol feel that love, and to assert Mitchell’s rightful place in the canon.
    — New York Times, 26 July 2022
  • Dust the full shelves before placing books back in their rightful spots.
    — Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Jan. 2023
  • The 49-year-old voiced hope that, rather than being sold, the medals might find their way back to their rightful owner.
    — Isaac Yee and Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 11 Sep. 2024
  • In this scenario, the rightful owner is likely nowhere to be found.
    — Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2023
  • That brings us to the Phillies, and perhaps a bit of rightful indignation.
    — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2022
  • The Stokes council and the Braxton council both claim to be the rightful council members.
    — Kyle Whitmire | [email protected], al, 20 July 2023
  • At the end of episode six, there’s a debate regarding Kamran’s car and who has the most rightful claim to it.
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 July 2022
  • Her glam is the rightful focus, with a sharp cat-eye and full pink lip taking center stage.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Maya Rudolph is ready to claim her rightful title of Mother.
    — Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 May 2024
  • Lake hopes the court will declare her the rightful winner of the Nov. 8 election or order a new election.
    — Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 19 Dec. 2022
  • If so, all the more reason for its rightful occupants to claim it.
    — Trygve Throntveit and Harry Boyte, TIME, 13 June 2024
  • All those projects began with the process of buying land from rightful owners.
    — Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Crews have since replaced the bottom part to return Bieber's own legs to their rightful spot.
    — Katie Campione, PEOPLE.com, 31 Aug. 2021
  • Return them to their rightful homes in other rooms throughout the house.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2024
  • The English people viewed Anne as a scandalous usurper of the rightful queen’s place.
    — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Aug. 2022
  • But the battle drawn over the rightful heir to Warhol’s Montauk property came to a head in July.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 15 Aug. 2023
  • But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang, a young Air Nomad, and the last of his kind, reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar.
    — Dana Feldman, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
  • Then, sort through whatever is left in the basket and return it to its rightful home.
    — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2022
  • But then Cap returned the hammer to its rightful place in the multiverse.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 24 May 2022
  • To find the rightful winner, the lottery employs law enforcement officers to help with an investigation process in order to determine if a player won the jackpot.
    — Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Earlier in the show, McCartney had introduced his audience to another old friend: his original bass guitar, which was stolen half a century ago and made its way back to its rightful owner in February.
    — Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rightful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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