deference

1. 1.

   a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard

   “his deference to her wishes was very flattering”

   “be sure to give my respects to the dean”

   Synonymsrespect

   Broaderpoliteness

   Narrowercourtlast respectsprops
2. 2.

   courteous regard for people's feelings

   “in deference to your wishes”

   “out of respect for his privacy”

   Synonymsrespectrespectfulness

   Broadercourtesy
3. 3.

   a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others

   Synonymscomplaisancecompliancecompliancyobligingness

   Broaderagreeableness

Other forms of deference

plural

deferences·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about deference

What does deference mean?

deference means "a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in deference?

deference has 3 syllables: def-e-rence. The stress falls on "def". In IPA it is /ˈdɛfɚəns/.

What is another word for deference?

Close synonyms include respect, respect, respectfulness, complaisance, compliance. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is deference a common word?

deference is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.