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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

deferential.

Respectful and considerate; showing deference.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj[ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ]UK
  1. Respectful and considerate; showing deference.

  2. Based on deference; based on the doctrine, ideology, or wishes of others rather than one's own conclusions.

Where this word comes from

From deference (or its Latin type *dēferentia) + -al; compare essence, essential; prudence, prudential, etc. Coined by Scottish novelist, poet and playwright Walter Scott.

adj[ˌdɛfəˈɹɛnʃəɫ]UK
  1. Of or relating to the vas deferens.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From French déférentiel, from déférent + -iel.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.