deferential
adjective
Examples of deferential in a Sentence
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Unfortunately, that moment never seems to arrive, particularly in larger meetings or group settings, where the Unknown’s quiet, deferential style gets crowded out.
—Elizabeth Freedman, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
Nearly as stirring was the duet by Tracy Chapman and a suitably deferential Luke Combs.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Feb. 2024
Prior to Covid-19, judges were extremely deferential to employers in remote work cases.
—Michelle Travis, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Witness last week’s mockery of his old foil Tucker Carlson, who conducted a deferential interview with Vladimir Putin, then visited a Moscow supermarket in an attempt to show viewers that contrary to what the news media tells you, Russia is more than just a brutal authoritarian state.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
Musk is clearly hoping the new Texas courts will be more deferential to Tesla on executive pay if the company is sued again after his next pay plan is agreed on.
—Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2024
Since that time, India’s supreme court has become surprisingly deferential and taciturn.
—Vaibhav Vats, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2024
Some soldiers and analysts said there was a danger that the next commander will be too deferential to Zelensky.
—David L. Stern, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deferential.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
defer(ence) + -ential, by analogy with other Latin-derived words where the suffixes -ence and -ential imply one another (as prudence, prudential)
1822, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near deferential
Cite this Entry
“Deferential.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deferential. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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deferential
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on deferential
Nglish: Translation of deferential for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of deferential for Arabic Speakers
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