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
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Recent Examples of deferential
Although congressional Republicans have remained deferential to Trump, their patience appears to be wearing thin.
—
Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2025
Some see Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer as too deferential to established norms or too reluctant to use procedural powers to slow down Trump’s agenda.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
There's an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.
—Mike Stone and Marisa Taylor, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
The meeting never devolved into the outburst that the public saw in Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was berated by the U.S. president and his team for not being sufficiently deferential.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deferential
Edward Fishman, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2025
Some see Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer as too deferential to established norms or too reluctant to use procedural powers to slow down Trump’s agenda.
—Charlotte Alter, Time, 19 May 2025
There's an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.
—Mike Stone and Marisa Taylor, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
The meeting never devolved into the outburst that the public saw in Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was berated by the U.S. president and his team for not being sufficiently deferential.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for deferential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deferential
Adjective
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European accounts show that the foreigners weren’t just dependent on mestres for help navigating life in Kongo but also respectful of their abilities and manners.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
12 July 2025
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Like the series, Mask of the Phantasm does a nice job of catering both to kids and adults — this isn’t as intense as the Christopher Nolan films or as kinky as the Tim Burton movies, but it’s smartly written and respectful about what makes the Dark Knight such an evergreen character.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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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.—
Carlie Procell,
USA TODAY,
25 Nov. 2024
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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.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Deferential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deferential. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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