deference

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
15
Words With Friends
17
Letters
9
Pronunciation
/ˈdɛfəɹəns/(UK)
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈdɛfəɹəns/(UK) · /ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/ · /ˈdɛ.fɹəns/

Definition of deference

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)Great respect.
    “The children treated their elders with deference.”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)Great respect.
    “The children treated their elders with deference.”
  2. (countable, uncountable)The willingness to carry out the wishes of others.
    “By tidying his room, he showed deference to his mother.”
    “Michael in turn benefits from Tom. He loosens up a bit, stops talking so much like one of the bad novels he used to read, and learns to give his intellect a rest once in a while in deference to the emotions.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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