reverent

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈrɛvərənt/ UK /ˈrɛvərənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
feeling or showing deep and solemn respect

A reverent hush fell over the congregation as the hymn began.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · feeling or showing deep and... respectful reverential worshipful devout awed deferential pious

Opposites

irreverent disrespectful impious profane

Word family

Derived forms reverently reverence

Related forms revere reverence reverend revered

Etymology

From Latin reverens, present participle of revereri ('to stand in awe of, respect'), from re- (intensive) + vereri ('to fear, respect').

revereri Latin vereri Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# reverent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈrɛvərənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈrɛvərənt/

## Meanings
1. feeling or showing deep and solemn respect

## Examples
- A reverent hush fell over the congregation as the hymn began.

## Synonyms
- respectful
- reverential
- worshipful
- devout
- awed
- deferential
- pious

## Antonyms
- irreverent
- disrespectful
- impious
- profane

## Derived Forms
- reverently
- reverence

## Related Forms
- revere
- reverence
- reverend
- revered

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: revereri
- Root: vereri

## Etymology
From Latin reverens, present participle of revereri ('to stand in awe of, respect'), from re- (intensive) + vereri ('to fear, respect').

## AI Etymology
Reverent comes from Latin reverens, present participle of revereri ('to stand in awe of, respect'), from re- (intensive) + vereri ('to fear, respect'). The historical chain includes Latin revereri and Latin vereri. Older glosses in the chain include "to stand in awe of, respect" and "to fear, respect", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, reverent is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "feeling or showing deep and solemn respect". English derivatives include reverently and reverence; related forms include revere, reverence, reverend, and revered. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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