deference

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See also: déférence

English

Etymology

From French déférence.

Morphologically defer +‎ -ence.

Pronunciation

Noun

deference (countable and uncountable, plural deferences)

  1. Great respect.
    The children treated their elders with deference.
  2. The willingness to carry out the wishes of others.
    By tidying his room, he showed deference to his mother.
    • 1983 December 31, Kenneth Hale-Wehmann, “The Business of Sex and Affection”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 24, page 8:
      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.

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