How to Use rightful in a Sentence

rightful

adjective
  • He will be given his rightful place in the history books.
  • The property should be returned to its rightful owner.
  • That would truly put the show back on its rightful pedestal.
    — Michael Cuby, Them., 17 Nov. 2025
  • Now, Gracie should be back to her rightful home soon.
    — Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 26 June 2026
  • Instead, empty it and put the items in their rightful places.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 20 Dec. 2025
  • Dust the full shelves before placing books back in their rightful spots.
    — Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Jan. 2023
  • Ifill could be the first Black woman to take her rightful seat on the bench.
    — Melissa Harris Perry, Glamour, 13 Oct. 2020
  • Return jackets, bags, and shoes to their rightful place.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Dec. 2025
  • If so, all the more reason for its rightful occupants to claim it.
    — Trygve Throntveit and Harry Boyte, TIME, 13 June 2024
  • As of late that night, police had not received a call from the rightful owner.
    — cleveland.com, 27 June 2019
  • The city released the list in hopes of finding the rightful owners.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 12 May 2026
  • In this scenario, the rightful owner is likely nowhere to be found.
    — Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2023
  • All those projects began with the process of buying land from rightful owners.
    — Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 10 Aug. 2023
  • That's where Congress has to fight for its rightful role in oversight.
    — Fox News, 25 May 2018
  • Return them to their rightful homes in other rooms throughout the house.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Return them to their rightful homes in other rooms throughout the house.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 4 June 2026
  • The young cuckoo wasp eats the nest’s rightful occupant and its food store.
    — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2020
  • Two of the trailers have been returned to their rightful owner.
    — Prescotte Stokes Iii, star-telegram, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Fleet hopes the church will be restored to its rightful place in the town’s history by then.
    — Angela Watercutter, Wired, 26 Nov. 2020
  • Time, however, has confirmed its rightful place in the canon of film greats.
    — Carlos Valladares, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Apr. 2018
  • Now that the rats are gone, the ground lizards may be reclaiming their rightful place at the top of the food web.
    — Geoffrey Giller, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2018
  • That should give pause as the rightful excitement grows about the Bowie group this year.
    — Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 7 June 2021
  • The Labubus have since been returned to their rightful owners.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Her glam is the rightful focus, with a sharp cat-eye and full pink lip taking center stage.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 10 Aug. 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
  • To reclaim his place as the rightful heir to the throne, a young shepherd must abandon his true love.
    — Kathleen Dixon, SFChronicle.com, 11 July 2018
  • There were also rightful comments about her perfection of the art of the messy bun.
    — Krystin Arneson, Glamour, 7 July 2018
  • Both Hoekstra and Karamo now claim to be the rightful party chair.
    — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Your mother, as the rightful owner of the house, will have to sign a new deed if your sister tries to sell it.
    — Benny L. Kass, chicagotribune.com, 13 June 2018
  • But the pearlies argue over which group is the rightful caretaker of the pearly legacy.
    — Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Apr. 2023

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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