deference
noun
Did you know?
As you might have guessed, deference is related to the verb defer, meaning "to delegate" or "to submit to another's wishes." But we need to be specific when we tell you that both these words come from the Medieval Latin verb dēferre, which means "to convey, show respect, or submit to a decision," because there are two defers in the English language. The defer related to deference is typically used with to in contexts having to do either with allowing someone else to decide or choose something, as in "I'll defer to the dictionary," or with agreeing to follow someone else's decision, wish, etc., as when a court defers to precedent. The other defer traces to the Latin verb differre, meaning "to carry away in varying directions, spread abroad, postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct." That defer is typically used in contexts having to do with delaying or postponing something, as in "a willingness to defer the decision until next month."
Synonyms
Examples of deference in a Sentence
Benjamin R. Barber, Atlantic, March 1992
In the 1980s, in deference to the neighborhoods, City Hall would attempt a counter-reformation of downtown, forbidding "Manhattanization."
—Richard Rodriguez, Harper's, October 1990
She could have subtly appealed to the deference … she knew was still in there, encoded in their middle-aged hearts; she never did.
—Peggy Noonan, New York Times Magazine, 16 Dec. 1990
A sense of deference to the upper class among whites made it possible, in Sproat's estimation, for white leaders to contain the white supremacists.
—Robert L. Harris, Jr., American Historical Review, December 1987
Her relatives treat one another with deference.
He is shown much deference by his colleagues.
Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2025
In place since 1984, the Chevron deference had allowed federal agencies to interpret ambiguous congressional statutes within reasonable parameters.
—Eric D. Lawrence, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
Even the loss of Chevron deference—a doctrine that once allowed judges to defer to agency interpretations of statutes—may not faze progressives.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Chevron deference arose from a 1984 Clean Air Act case; in 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court sharply curtailed it.
—Stan Meiburg, The Conversation, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for deference 
Dictionary Entries Near deference
Cite this Entry
“Deference.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deference. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
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deference
noun
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