English Reference
Adjective

undue

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ənˈdu/ UK /ʌndjˈuː/ un·due

adj.more than is necessary, reasonable, or fair. You use it to describe an amount of something that is too much for the situation.

adj.exceeding what is appropriate, warranted, or justified. Often used to describe excessive influence, pressure, or delay in legal and formal contexts.


SIMPLE

The news caused undue alarm among the public.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager warned that any undue delay in submitting the report would affect the project timeline.

COMPLEX

The court ruled that the contract was signed under undue influence, as one party had used their position of power to pressure the other into an unfair agreement.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun; frequently collocates with 'influence', 'pressure', 'delay', or 'hardship'.

Usage undue pressure

Yes, absolutely, we must protect our children, we must protect Australians against undue harm.

The Guardian· 10 Sept 2026

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem hit back on Beirut’s remarks, accusing Lebanese officials of putting the army under “undue pressure” by implementing a non-functional agreement.

Al Jazeera· 14 Aug 2026

From un- + due.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated