DEFERENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deference mean? 

• DEFERENCE (noun)
  The noun DEFERENCE has 3 senses:

1. a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard

2. courteous regard for people's feelings

3. a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others

  Familiarity information: DEFERENCE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFERENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

deference; respect

Context example:

be sure to give my respects to the dean

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:

Courteous regard for people's feelings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

deference; respect; respectfulness

Context example:

out of respect for his privacy

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

complaisance; compliance; compliancy; deference; obligingness

Hypernyms ("deference" is a kind of...):

agreeability; agreeableness (a temperamental disposition to be agreeable)

Derivation:

deferent; deferential (showing deference)

 Context examples 

The deference which both she and Traddles showed towards the Beauty, pleased me very much.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Everywhere I met the same sort of men, with their stiff figures and small waists, all showing the utmost deference to my uncle, and for his sake an easy tolerance of me.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I assure you, that if Darcy were not such a great tall fellow, in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so much deference.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She felt that he had every thing to elevate him which general attention and deference, and especially the attention of all the young women, could do.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I think (with deference be it spoken) the contrast could not be much greater between a sleek gander and a fierce falcon: between a meek sheep and the rough-coated keen-eyed dog, its guardian.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

With every boat which we have over-hauled since then this trick has succeeded; we have had every deference shown to us, and not once any objection to whatever we chose to ask or do.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

His behaviour to her in this, as well as in every other particular, his open pleasure in meeting her after an absence of only ten days, his readiness to converse with her, and his deference for her opinion, might very well justify Mrs. Jennings's persuasion of his attachment, and would have been enough, perhaps, had not Elinor still, as from the first, believed Marianne his real favourite, to make her suspect it herself.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

In deference to my promise, and much against my will, I consented to leave him there for three days, under the charge of Mrs. Hayes, since it was evident that it was impossible to inform the police where he was without telling them also who was the murderer, and I could not see how that murderer could be punished without ruin to my unfortunate James.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His face, however, was tanned of a dull yellow tint, with a leathery, poreless look, which spoke of rough outdoor doings, and the little pointed beard which he wore, in deference to the prevailing fashion, was streaked and shot with gray.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)