Meaning & use
respected
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Admired and treated with high regard by other people because of ability, character or achievements.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or after be: a respected doctor, she is respected.
Patterns
- respected by someone
- respected for something
- a respected member of something
She is a respected scientist who has won several awards.
He was respected by his colleagues for his honesty.
The respected newspaper corrected its mistake immediately.
verbtransitive
The past tense and past participle of respect, meaning to have admiration for someone or to treat their rights with care.
Grammar: Takes an object: they respected her wishes.
Patterns
- respect someone for something
The coach respected every player on the team.
They respected the family's request for privacy.
He was never respected as a leader.
Word forms
| comparative | more respected |
|---|---|
| superlative | most respected |
Common combinations
- highly respected
- He is a highly respected surgeon.
- well respected
- She is well respected in her field.
- respected member
- He is a respected member of the community.
- respected by
- The teacher was respected by her students.
- widely respected
- The judge is widely respected.
Synonyms and how they differ
- esteemed
- Esteemed is more formal and is often used in greetings and introductions.
- admired
- Admired suggests liking and looking up to someone, whereas respected is about regard for their ability or fairness.
- revered
- Revered is stronger, suggesting deep, almost worshipful respect.
- reputable
- Reputable describes companies and sources with a good name, while respected is used for people too.
Opposites
Word family
- respect noun
- admiration for someone
- respect verb
- to admire or treat with consideration
- respectful adjective
- showing respect
- respectable adjective
- good enough to be accepted by society
- disrespect noun
- lack of respect
Commonly confused: respected or respectful? respected or respectable?
respected vs respectful
Respectful describes someone who shows respect to others, while respected describes someone who receives it.
respected vs respectable
Respectable means proper or decent in the eyes of society, and may sound mild or old-fashioned.
Practice
Everyone in the village listens to her advice because she is a highly ___ teacher.
Choose one answer.
Respected describes a person others look up to. Respectful describes someone who shows respect, and respective means belonging to each one separately.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “respected”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.