undeserving
adjective
un·de·serv·ing
| \ ˌən-di-ˈzər-viŋ
\
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Definition of undeserving
: not deserving: such as
a
: lacking merit : not worthy of praise, assistance, attention, etc.
selfish, undeserving people The natural history of women's friendships is by no means a thin or undeserving subject.— Barbara Kingsolver
b
: not deserving something specified
… circumstances of brutal outrage, of which poor Jean was in many respects wholly undeserving.— Sir Walter Scott I do not mean to say that medicine is blameless … or undeserving of criticism.— Margaret Talbot
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Examples of undeserving in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Though Crosby appears sturdy, even robust, everybody in his immediate orbit seems to agree that the singer, who is seventy-seven, is operating on borrowed time, as the seemingly undeserving beneficiary of a divine extension. — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, "Weekend preview: Women and beers and TVs we love, plus a Bon Jovi dance party?," 7 Aug. 2019 But mob-mentality social media campaigns also risk sweeping undeserving brands along in a controversy, and overlooking important complexities in the process. — Alain Sylvain, Quartz at Work, "What happens when social media’s “cancel culture” misses the point?," 1 Aug. 2019 An ode and a cinematic apology to a country perennially tarnished by outsiders undeserving of its welcoming culture, here its people and geographical attributes take top billing. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘Jirga’ asks if atonement for war sins is possible," 1 Aug. 2019 And obviously dwelling in that undeserving place is not beneficial for anyone. — Ale Russian, PEOPLE.com, "All About Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Breakout and Andie MacDowell’s Daughter Margaret Qualley," 30 July 2019 By the mid-’70s — just as Taylor was becoming Exhibit A of the undeserving poor — more women of color were being granted access to the assistance benefits long denied to them. — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, "Reagan used her, the country hated her. Decades later, the Welfare Queen of Chicago refuses to go away," 7 June 2019 But having been witness to much of the recent history of Emmy awards and nominations, the current batch, announced this week, does inspire a few observations — and not the usual ones about who got snubbed and who was undeserving. — Bill Carter, CNN, "HBO is king, women rule comedy and other takeaways from this year's Emmy nominations," 19 July 2019 The pathos of lumpenproletarian misery has never gone entirely out of artistic fashion, but its status has been enhanced recently by the vogue for socialism and the ever-growing hatred for the undeserving rich. — Algis Valiunas, National Review, "Nelson Algren: Chicago’s Bard of the Downtrodden," 11 July 2019 Several years back, the Hall added the contributor category, but in so doing did not include coaches — just owners (some undeserving), general managers, and plain terrific football people (like Gil Brandt, who’s to be inducted this year). — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Don Coryell’s long-overdue ticket to Hall of Fame might be his — at last," 7 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'undeserving.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for undeserving
undeserving
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of undeserving
: not having qualities that deserve praise, support, etc.
—used to say that someone should not have or be given something —+ of
See the full definition for undeserving in the English Language Learners Dictionary