Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

deference

/ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.96 in modern English

Syllables: def-er-ence
IPA: /ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/

15

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The willingness to carry out the wishes of others.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The children treated their elders with deference."
"By tidying his room, he showed deference to his mother."
"Michael in turn benefits from Tom. He loosens up a bit, stops talking so much like one of the bad novels he used to read, and learns to give his intellect a rest once in a while in deference to the emotions."

Etymology

From French déférence. Morphologically defer + -ence.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: déférence
Suffix: defer

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/
British English: /ˈdɛfəɹəns/

Usage

Inflected Forms

deferences (plural)

Derived Forms

nondeference overdeference

Phrases

in deference to

Synonyms

honor respect complaisance compliance compliancy obligingness respectfulness

Rhymes With

reference preference

Questions

How do you pronounce deference?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/.
What does deference mean?: Great respect.
Where does deference come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce deference

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “deference”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɛ.fɚ.əns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “deference”.
Repeat and practice — Say “deference” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.