Meaning & use
undue
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Greater than is reasonable, needed or fair in the situation.
Grammar: Almost always before a noun and often after the word without or no: without undue delay.
Patterns
- without undue delay
- undue pressure on someone
The tenants were put under undue pressure to leave.
Please reply without undue delay.
She felt undue stress about a small mistake.
adjectiveafter a verbrarebusiness
Not yet due; not yet required to be paid or done.
Grammar: Rare financial use, after be: the payment is undue.
The bank said the payment was undue until June.
An undue invoice cannot yet be charged.
Interest on undue amounts is not applied.
Common combinations
- undue influence
- The will was challenged for undue influence.
- undue haste
- The decision was made with undue haste.
- undue attention
- The case received undue attention from the press.
- undue burden
- The new rule places an undue burden on small shops.
- without undue delay
- Applications will be processed without undue delay.
Synonyms and how they differ
- excessive
- Excessive is the general word for too much, whereas undue stresses that the amount is not justified.
- unwarranted
- Unwarranted focuses on lacking a good reason, as in an unwarranted attack.
- inordinate
- Inordinate is more formal and stresses a surprising amount beyond normal limits.
- unreasonable
- Unreasonable judges a person's behavior or demand, while undue can describe any extra amount.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: undue or overdue?
undue vs overdue
Overdue means late, such as a book returned after its date, whereas undue means more than is reasonable.
Practice
Which phrase correctly completes: The officer promised to act ___ undue delay.
Choose one answer.
Without undue delay means promptly, not slowly. With undue delay would mean the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “undue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.