as in deferent
marked by or showing proper regard for another's higher status
the children were remarkably respectful while in the president's office
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of respectful
The pet owner has quickly drawn admiration, with viewers praising the calm and respectful introduction to a new environment.
—
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
The workshop will focus on tools to foster respectful cross-partisan dialogue.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2025
Always respectful, humble and helpful, the kind of young man any parent would be proud of and WE DEFINITELY ARE!
—Laura Bauer
july 28, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2025
In Massachusetts, officials purchased property in Salem for an interpretive museum that gave tourists a respectful way to learn about the execution of innocent women.
—Lila Hempel-Edgers
july 22, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for respectful
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
The workshop will focus on tools to foster respectful cross-partisan dialogue.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2025
Always respectful, humble and helpful, the kind of young man any parent would be proud of and WE DEFINITELY ARE!
—Laura Bauer
july 28, Kansas City Star, 28 July 2025
In Massachusetts, officials purchased property in Salem for an interpretive museum that gave tourists a respectful way to learn about the execution of innocent women.
—Lila Hempel-Edgers
july 22, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for respectful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for respectful
Adjective
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And many advocates are promoting a vision of public health that’s less dependent on mandates and appeals to authority, and more deferent to individuals’ beliefs.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
4 Aug. 2025
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The Ptolemaic model depicted planets moving around Earth in a big circle, known as a deferent, then going around a smaller circle while retrograding, called an epicycle.—
Carlie Procell,
USA TODAY,
25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Most of the time, generative AI has been tuned to be relatively polite and offers mild praise, though a user can easily up the ante by simply telling the AI to pour it on.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2025
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There also were multiple paintings scattered throughout the fictional White House that poke fun at Trump’s military bravado as well as an image that seems to involve Trump and a sheep engaged in an activity not meant for polite company, not to mention that deepfake.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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News coverage, starting with correspondent Joan Rivers’ outrageous taunts and then shifting to a far more reverent tone from 2006 to 2021, when Ryan Seacrest joined Rancic for live news desk and awards show coverage.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
29 July 2025
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His surviving works — just over 30 in all — form a kind of visual music or poetry: reverent, revelatory.—
Jerry Saltz,
Vulture,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Alston also gave the Court an opportunity to clarify the NCAA is not owed a deferential standard of review on antitrust claims.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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Yet this week the president was notably deferential to his Israeli counterpart on questions about the future of Gaza.—
Ellen Mitchell,
The Hill,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Respectful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/respectful. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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