deference
- 01 C1 Advanced
the act of showing respect by letting someone else make a decision or by following their advice.
the act of yielding to the opinion, will, or judgement of another out of respect or recognition of their authority.
Simple“He decided to wear a suit in deference to his grandfather's traditional views.”
In context“The junior researchers spoke with quiet deference during the meeting, acknowledging the lead scientist's decades of experience in the field.”
UsageOften used in the phrase 'in deference to'.
Teacher's tipLearners often confuse this with 'difference'. Remind them that 'deference' is about 'deferring' or yielding to someone else.
SynonymsAntonyms
“Deference was a conscious task that involved honoring the boundaries, rules and expectations of community members.”
“These include excessive exercise, perfectionism, rule following, deference to coaches, high achievement and obsessive-compulsive traits.”
From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.