undeserving
adjective
un·de·serv·ing
ˌən-di-ˈzər-viŋ 
: 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
Barbara Kingsolver
b
: not deserving something specified
… circumstances of brutal outrage, of which poor Jean was in many respects wholly undeserving.—Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter ScottI do not mean to say that medicine is blameless … or undeserving of criticism.—Margaret Talbot
Margaret Talbot
undeservingly
adverb
Examples of undeserving in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their nominations went to the Senate last week uncontested by the Democratic minority, whose members walked out to protest how Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, accelerated a vote on Trump’s most controversial and undeserving choice, Emil Bove III, to join the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 22 July 2025
The underlying justification for their mastery of this bountiful, beautiful semi-tropic place was the conviction that their predecessors — native Americans, Spanish, Mexican — were unappreciative and undeserving, unlike the grateful and energetic Yankee.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2022
More undeserving teams making October.
—Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 15 Sep. 2021
Scream 3 is often dealt a short shrift by series fans and critics alike, but the flack is largely undeserving.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2023
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Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 22 July 2025
The underlying justification for their mastery of this bountiful, beautiful semi-tropic place was the conviction that their predecessors — native Americans, Spanish, Mexican — were unappreciative and undeserving, unlike the grateful and energetic Yankee.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2022
More undeserving teams making October.
—Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 15 Sep. 2021
Scream 3 is often dealt a short shrift by series fans and critics alike, but the flack is largely undeserving.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for undeserving
Cite this Entry
“Undeserving.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undeserving. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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