deference

Definition

Great respect.

Etymology

From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.

Example Sentences

• "The children treated their elders with deference."
• "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."