Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes, or judgment of another.
- n. Courteous respect. See Synonyms at honor.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A yielding in opinion; submission to the opinion, judgment, or wish of another; hence, regard, respect, or submission in general: as, a blind deference to authority.
Wiktionary
- n. Great respect.
- n. The willingness to carry out the wishes of others.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A yielding of judgment or preference from respect to the wishes or opinion of another; submission in opinion; regard; respect; complaisance.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard
- n. courteous regard for people's feelings
- n. a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others
Examples
“The first kind of deference is relatively uncontroversial, I suspect.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Does Dale Forbid the Solomon Amendment?
“They asked for US help for missile defense, and were told to shove it, in deference Russia.”
“So I use the word savages with some hesitation, in deference to the people who may, somewhere, be still running around in loin cloths and eating raw meat, and who suffer by the comparison.”
“Bobby is clearly only an after thought … The meeting of Loons happening IN HIS OWN STATE and for all he knows, getting laughed off the stage … in deference to the Swag-Hag??”
Think Progress » Jindal: ‘It Hurts Our Feelings’ To Be Called The ‘Party of No’
“If they barred Jews from serving, that determination would be subject to substantial deference from the courts, and in any event might not prevent Congress from requiring military recruiters on campus.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Kagan, the Harvard Ban on Military Recruiters, and Anti-Military Bias
“The civil war amendments provide examples where state power is curtailed but in deference to the people.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Recalls of U.S. Senators Are Unconstitutional
“In the case of the 17th amendment deference is also given to the people for election of Senators as the legislatures direct, but it does not preclude any specific avenue for creating vacancies.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Recalls of U.S. Senators Are Unconstitutional
“Callahan, the young director of the department was the last to leave the tower, but when she bowed her head to Carl in deference, he lifted her chin and they gazed at each other, soiled faces, wild hair, and Carl handed Callahan back her shovel.”
365 tomorrows » J.R. Blackwell : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day
“James, while I am profoundly humbled in deference to your working-man credentials, your little diatribe does not detract from the convincing legal statement of Mr. Copeland, who, unlike you, cites examples and precedents.”
“Barrymore trills, with a gentle hug in deference to Lange's broken collarbone and bruised ribs, sustained during a fall at her Minnesota cabin last month.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘deference’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Mirrored Vowels
Rules:
• The word must have an even number of vowels.
• There must be four or more vowels; thus, at minimum, an A-A-A-A or A-B-B-A pattern.
• The vowels must appear in a mir...feminine, solicitor, caruncular, repackager, semiprimes, fetishises, decomposer, demonlover, recomposer, sepultures, lipotropic, colesterol and 385 more...
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This Boy's Life list 2
treacly, sepulchral, unutterable, malicious, vigilance, Aryan, lackey, plausible, emaciated, cavernous, perspicacity, scabrous and 13 more...
jwjarvis treated him without deference, although they said nothing offensive. Aug 25, 2011