upright
/ˈʌpɹaɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.74 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
In its proper orientation; not overturned.
adj
Of good morals; reliable and trustworthy; practicing ethical values.
adj
Having a head at approximately a right angle with the shaft.
adj
Characterized by a style of running with the head and shoulders held high.
adv
In or into an upright position.
adv
On one's feet (as opposed to in a wheelchair).
Example Sentences
- "Fab[ell]: What meanes the tolling of this fatall chime, // O what a trembling horror ſtrikes my hart! // My ſtiffned haire ſtands vpright on my head, // As doe the briſtles of a porcupine."
- "Supported by pillows, ſhe ſat almoſt upright."
- "Another feature new to British Railways is the provision of two-position adjustable seats in the first class compartments. In this design, the seat squab can be pulled out some six inches, the seat back being attached to the seat to give a less upright sitting position."
- "Upright posture evolved well before an enlarged brain in hominids."
- "My brother didn't get angry when his son knocked over the lamp; he simply called the boy over and helped him set it upright again."
- "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil."
Etymology
From Middle English upright, uppryght, upriht, from Old English upriht (“upright; erect”), from Proto-Germanic *upprehtaz, equivalent to up- + right. Cognate with Saterland Frisian apgjucht (“upright”), West Frisian oprjocht (“upright”), Dutch oprecht (“upright”), German Low German uprecht (“upright”), German aufrecht (“upright”), Swedish upprätt (“upright”), Icelandic uppréttur (“upright”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Slang
- Informal
- British usage
- Obsolete
- Transitive verb
Inflected Forms
more upright (comparative)
most upright (superlative)
vpright (alternative, obsolete)
uprights (plural)
uprights (present, singular)
uprighting (participle, present)
uprighted (participle, past)
uprighted (past)