DEFERENTIALLY Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

deferentially

adverb

as in humbly

in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion behaved deferentially when approaching someone in authority

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of deferentially Precedent thus gave the judge reason to deferentially review settlement terms. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 May 2026 Scorsese shoots them beautifully and deferentially. — Matt Weinstock, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026 Princess Bride is superbly planned and deferentially orchestrated — its theme fits its telling. — Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deferentially

Adverb

And, as j-hope so humbly mentioned, the awards are just another milestone to add to what has already been a massive year for the group.

— Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2026
Oeffling humbly downplays the appeal of his music, which has a familiar, early 2000s aesthetic that sounds indebted to the spirit of Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene, as well as contemporaries like Alex G.

— Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of humbly

Adverb

Among the hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets in France on Tuesday were Paolina and Violette, eighteen and seventeen years old, arguing politely with a white-haired man sucking apple juice from a juice box.

— Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
Kaya spoke first at the hearing, politely greeting the judge from a seat in front of a set of curtains.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of politely

Adverb

The journey moves through several rooms jumbling period French architecture, the first meekly lit with artificial moonlight and video monitors that flicker out from cracks in the wall.

— Miles Socha, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
His recollections often take the form of dialogues in which interlocutors meekly acknowledge his overwhelming rhetorical advantage.

— Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of meekly

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deferential

deferentially

deferment

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“Deferentially.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deferentially. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of deferentially

adverb

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