Duly noted meaning
Duly noted means acknowledged, recognized, or understood. It is often used as a response to a new piece of information, as if the speaker is saying, “I am now aware of that.”
What exactly does this phrase mean? Let’s define duly and noted as individual words. Duly is an adverb. In the context of this expression, it means in the proper way and at the correct time. To note something means to record it. For example, a secretary might make sure that the minutes of a meeting are duly noted, and written down in the proper manner. Here is an example of duly noted in a sentence about a county tax petition:
In fact, people most often use duly noted as a simple acknowledgment of an opinion. But sometimes it means to take notice of something, or to call attention to it. For instance, this quote from Deseret News mentions a coach paying heed to the positive attitude of one of his players:
It’s a contribution duly noted by head coach Shawn Olmstead, who gets a bit emotional when talking about the contributions made by his less-heralded group of seniors.
Is duly noted rude?
Do you think sarcasm is rude? If you use duly noted facetiously, some people may find it rude.
A conversation between two characters in Identity, a novel by Ingrid Thoft, typifies this tendency to use duly noted as a form of sarcasm:
“Your concern is duly noted.”
“‘Duly noted’ usually means ‘heard and ignored.”
“Well, ‘heard’ is a start, right?”
How to use duly noted correctly
A few words look like duly so you have to be careful when you write it. For example, accidentally adding a second l would make dully noted! Dully means sluggishly, boringly, or barely . . . In a professional context, you wouldn’t want to tell your boss that you barely acknowledged what she said! Neither do you want to confuse duly with dually—a word that means “made of two people or parts, relating to two.” Because the base of duly is due, some people add an e to make duely, but that is not a word.
Now, you have a go-to phrase when requests and suggestions come your way. You can use duly noted to say all of these things: I wrote what you just said in the appropriate record. I acknowledge your opinion. I heard you, and I don’t really care. How will you use “duly noted”?
