deference

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˈdɛfərəns/ UK /ˈdefərəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
respectful submission to another's judgment or wishes

Out of deference to elders, she stayed silent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · respectful submission to... respect regard submission obedience reverence compliance esteem homage

Opposites

disrespect defiance disregard insolence contempt

Word family

Derived forms deferentdeferential

Related forms defer deferential refer differ

Etymology

From French déférence, from déférer ('to submit, refer'), from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer'), from de- ('down') + ferre ('to carry, bear').

deferre Latin ferre Middle English *bʰer- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# deference

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛfərəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdefərəns/

## Meanings
1. respectful submission to another's judgment or wishes

## Examples
- Out of deference to elders, she stayed silent.

## Synonyms
- respect
- regard
- submission
- obedience
- reverence
- compliance
- esteem
- homage

## Antonyms
- disrespect
- defiance
- disregard
- insolence
- contempt

## Derived Forms
- deferent
- deferential

## Related Forms
- defer
- deferential
- refer
- differ

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: deferre
- Root: ferre
- Root: *bʰer-

## Etymology
From French déférence, from déférer ('to submit, refer'), from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer'), from de- ('down') + ferre ('to carry, bear').

## AI Etymology
Deference is from French déférence, from déférer ('to submit, refer'), from Latin deferre ('to carry down, refer'), from de- ('down') + ferre ('to carry, bear'). The ancestry passes through Latin deferre, Latin ferre, and Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a noun, it means "respectful submission to another's judgment or wishes", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include defer, deferential, refer, and differ; derived forms include deferent and deferential.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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