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DEFERENCE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard
Example:
be sure to give my respects to the dean
Synonyms:
deference; respect
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("deference" is a kind of...):
civility; politeness (the act of showing regard for others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "deference"):
court; homage (respectful deference)
last respects (the act of expressing respect for someone who has died)
props (proper respect)
Derivation:
deferent; deferential (showing deference)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others
Synonyms:
complaisance; compliance; compliancy; deference; obligingness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("deference" is a kind of...):
agreeability; agreeableness (a temperamental disposition to be agreeable)
Derivation:
deferent; deferential (showing deference)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Courteous regard for people's feelings
Example:
out of respect for his privacy
Synonyms:
deference; respect; respectfulness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("deference" is a kind of...):
courtesy; good manners (a courteous manner)
Derivation:
defer (yield to another's wish or opinion)
deferent; deferential (showing deference)
Context examples:
I listened to his statement, which was delivered without any presumption or affectation, and then added that his lecture had removed my prejudices against modern chemists; I expressed myself in measured terms, with the modesty and deference due from a youth to his instructor, without letting escape (inexperience in life would have made me ashamed) any of the enthusiasm which stimulated my intended labours.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Gentlemen, which means boys, be courteous to the old maids, no matter how poor and plain and prim, for the only chivalry worth having is that which is the readiest to pay deference to the old, protect the feeble, and serve womankind, regardless of rank, age, or color.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The remembrance of Mr. Allen's opinion, respecting young men's open carriages, made her blush at the mention of such a plan, and her first thought was to decline it; but her second was of greater deference for General Tilney's judgment; he could not propose anything improper for her; and, in the course of a few minutes, she found herself with Henry in the curricle, as happy a being as ever existed.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
But you have now shewn me that you can be wilful and perverse; that you can and will decide for yourself, without any consideration or deference for those who have surely some right to guide you, without even asking their advice.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
He listened with all due deference; acknowledged that he had heard many people say the same—but yet he must confess, that to him nothing could make amends for the want of the fine glow of health.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
In spite of the light brown dustcoat and leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of Scotland Yard.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She is the sort of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Immense deference was shown to the Henry Spikers, male and female; which Agnes told me was on account of Mr. Henry Spiker being solicitor to something or to somebody, I forget what or which, remotely connected with the Treasury.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Not all his good-will for Mr. Rushworth, not all Mr. Rushworth's deference for him, could prevent him from soon discerning some part of the truth—that Mr. Rushworth was an inferior young man, as ignorant in business as in books, with opinions in general unfixed, and without seeming much aware of it himself.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
But the remembrance of the appeal remained a pleasure to her, as a proof of friendship, and of deference for her judgement, a great pleasure; and when it became a sort of parting proof, its value did not lessen.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
