undeservingly

6.0

In a way someone gets praise or reward they do not earn

adverb
/ˌʌndɪˈzɜrvɪŋli/

: indignamente

She felt that the criticism she received was undeservingly harsh and didn't reflect her efforts.

Examples

Now, of course, if you aren't honorable, you are supposed to writhe with embarrassment if called that undeservingly.

Blog text (32)
The only reason Louisville is being considered is that Georgia (now a mediocre SEC team) lost in the Peach Bowl last year to WV, which inflated Big E stock undeservingly.

Blog text (15)
He won the award undeservingly, as many believed others had worked much harder.
The praise he received for his mediocre performance seemed undeservingly exaggerated.

Synonyms

unfairly

vsundeservingly

85 1.8

In a way that treats people or things differently and not right

refers to lack of earning rather than unequal treatment

unjustly

vsundeservingly

25 5.2

In an unfair way

highlights absence of being earned rather than general unfairness

wrongfully

vsundeservingly

24 4.6

In a way that is unfair or against the law

focuses on being unearned or not deserved rather than illegality

unjustifiably

vsundeservingly

2 7.0

In a way that has no good reason

focuses more on absence of merit or earning rather than reason

undeservedly

vsundeservingly

1 7.0

In a way that is not fair and not earned

is a less common variant in form while keeping the same meaning

unworthily

vsundeservingly

1 7.7

In a way that does not deserve respect or trust

refers specifically to something not earned or deserved rather than worth

unwarrantedly

vsundeservingly

1 8.2

Without a good reason or any right to do it

centres on lacking deserved merit instead of missing authorization

unrightfully

vsundeservingly

1 8.0

In a way that is not fair or right

points to lacking deservedness rather than broader moral correctness

inequitably

vsundeservingly

1 8.0

In a way that treats people unfairly

concerns individual lack of deserved merit, not broader distributional fairness

unwarrantably

vsundeservingly

9.9

In a way that has no good reason

is about not being earned rather than lacking reasonable grounds

Antonyms

deservingly

1 4.5

In a way that shows someone earned praise or a reward for their actions

How Deserved

deservedly

9 3.7

fairly

100 1.0

undeservingly

6.0

Surface Forms

undeservingly positive

Morphology

undeservingly = undeserving (transparent) = un + deserve + ing + ly

Formed by adding the adverbial suffix '-ly' to 'undeserving'; the adjective 'undeserving' is a regular negation of 'deserving', so the derivation is straightforward.

Etymology

Undeservingly breaks into parts you already know: un- meaning 'not', deserve meaning 'to earn', and -ly making it 'in a ... way'. So undeservingly means 'in a way that is not earned' — a helpful image is someone getting a prize they did not really deserve.