Meaning & use
respectful
Last updated
UK/rɪˈspektfəl/
US/rɪˈspektfəl/
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Showing politeness and consideration for someone's feelings, rights, or traditions.
Grammar: Can be more or less respectful; often followed by of, to, or toward.
Patterns
- respectful of someone/something
- respectful to/toward someone
- respectful behavior
Please remain respectful during the ceremony.
She was respectful of local customs when visiting the village.
Word forms
| comparative | more respectful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most respectful |
Common combinations
- respectful of others
- The guide asked everyone to be respectful of others.
- respectful attitude
- A respectful attitude helps difficult conversations go better.
- respectful silence
- The crowd kept a respectful silence during the memorial.
Synonyms and how they differ
- courteous
- Courteous stresses good manners in speech and action; respectful stresses honoring feelings or rights.
- polite
- Polite is broader everyday manners; respectful can be deeper and more formal.
- deferential
- Deferential implies yielding to authority or rank, stronger than ordinary respect.
Opposites
Word family
- respect noun
- Admiration or regard for someone or something.
- respect verb
- To admire or treat with consideration.
- respectfully adverb
- In a respectful way.
- disrespectful adjective
- Showing lack of respect.
Commonly confused: respectful or respectable?
respectful vs respectable
Respectful means showing respect to others; respectable means worthy of respect, as in a respectable job.
Practice
The phrase respectful ___ local traditions means honoring them.
Choose one answer.
Respectful takes of for the thing honored: respectful of traditions. Against suggests opposition, and at/under do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “respectful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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