reverence

honor, homage, reverence, deference mean respect and esteem shown to another. honor may apply to the recognition of one's right to great respect or to any expression of such recognition.

• • the nomination is an honor

homage adds the implication of accompanying praise.

• • paying homage to Shakespeare

reverence implies profound respect mingled with love, devotion, or awe.

• • great reverence for my father

deference implies a yielding or submitting to another's judgment or preference out of respect or reverence.

• • showed no deference to their elders

revere, reverence, venerate, worship, adore mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. revere stresses deference and tenderness of feeling.

• • a professor revered by her students

reverence presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a similar depth of feeling in the one honoring.

• • reverenced the academy's code of honor

venerate implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age.

• • heroes still venerated

worship implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony.

• • worships their memory

adore implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment.

• • we adored our doctor