as in respectful
marked by or showing proper regard for another's higher status
the man had the deferential attitude of someone who had been a servant his entire life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deferential
That expectation means that girls frequently struggle to balance aggressive competitiveness with norms of deferential femininity, a double standard boys don’t encounter.
—
Soraya Chemaly, Time, 24 Nov. 2025
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been very deferential to executive authority, particularly in matters of foreign policy and national security.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2025
And so, despite some emotionally satiating patriotic rhetoric on the campaign trail, Carney was deferential and complimentary to Trump on his courtly visit to the Oval Office shortly after winning the election.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Maryland’s appeal points to Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which instructs federal judges to be highly deferential in evaluating state criminal convictions.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deferential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deferential
Adjective
-
Attorney Manuel Carednas, who represented Villegas-Gonzalez in two of those cases, said his client, while undocumented, was respectful, hardworking and compliant with all court instructions regarding his traffic violations.—
-
This said, the movers were very polite and respectful and removed all of the excess packing.—
Adjective
-
And many advocates are promoting a vision of public health that’s less dependent on mandates and appeals to authority, and more deferent to individuals’ beliefs.—
-
The Ptolemaic model depicted planets moving around Earth in a big circle, known as a deferent, then going around a smaller circle while retrograding, called an epicycle.—
Cite this Entry
“Deferential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deferential. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share