deferential treatment

Meaning

1. 1phraseuncountable

   polite and respectful behavior toward someone, often showing that you accept their authority or higher status

   Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun phrase. You can say 'give someone deferential treatment' or 'receive deferential treatment'.

   Patterns

   • give someone deferential treatment
   • receive deferential treatment
   • deferential treatment of someone

   The younger employees gave the visiting director deferential treatment, standing up when she entered the room.

   He expected deferential treatment from the staff because of his famous name.

   The report criticized the school for giving deferential treatment to students from wealthy families.

Common combinations

give deferential treatment

The hotel staff gave deferential treatment to the celebrity guest.

receive deferential treatment

She received deferential treatment from her colleagues after her promotion.

expect deferential treatment

Some customers expect deferential treatment and become angry when they don't get it.

deferential treatment of someone

The deferential treatment of the chairman made other board members uncomfortable.

Synonyms and how they differ

respectful treatment

Similar, but 'respectful' is more general and can be used for anyone; 'deferential' specifically suggests accepting someone's higher status.

special treatment

Focuses on being treated better than others, while 'deferential' emphasizes the attitude of respect and submission.

Opposites

Word family

deference noun

the act of showing respect and accepting someone's authority

deferentially adverb

in a way that shows respect and acceptance of authority

deferential adjective

showing respect and accepting someone's higher status

Commonly confused: deferential treatment or differential treatment?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “deferential treatment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words