Link Centre Dictionary

deference

de·fe·rence

UK/ˈdɛfəɹəns/ US/ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/ rare

noun

1.

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

  • “his deference to her wishes was very flattering”
  • “be sure to give my respects to the dean”
Synonyms
2.

courteous regard for people''s feelings

  • “in deference to your wishes”
  • “out of respect for his privacy”
Synonyms
3.

Origin

From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.

Phrases

  • in deference to

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Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.