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The earliest known use of the adjective deferential is in the 1870s. OED's earliest evidence for deferential is from 1877, in the writing of Thomas Huxley, biologist and science educationist. deferential is a borrowing from French. Etymons: French déférentiel. See etymology.
deferential. (dɛfərɛnʃəl ) adjective [oft ADJ to n] Someone who is deferential is polite and respectful toward someone else. They like five-star hotels and deferential treatment. Synonyms: respectful, civil, polite, courteous More Synonyms of deferential. deferentially adverb. The old man spoke deferentially. Collins COBUILD Advanced ...
DEFERENCE definition: 1. respect and politeness: 2. respect and politeness: 3. respect shown for another person esp…. Learn more.
Find 31 different ways to say DEFERENTIAL, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
Deference definition: respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another.. See examples of DEFERENCE used in a sentence.
deference / ˈ dɛfərəns/ noun. Britannica Dictionary definition of DEFERENCE. [noncount] formal. : a way of behaving that shows respect for someone or something. Her relatives treat one another with deference. He is shown much deference by his colleagues. — often + to. The children were taught to show proper deference to their elders.
Synonyms for DEFERENTIAL: respectful, deferent, regardful, dutiful, polite, reverent, civil, gracious; Antonyms of DEFERENTIAL: disrespectful, offensive, abusive ...
