honorific

[ on-uh-rif-ik ]
See synonyms for honorific on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. Also hon·or·if·i·cal. doing or conferring honor.

  2. conveying honor, as a title or a grammatical form used in speaking to or about a superior, elder, etc.

noun
  1. (in certain languages, as Chinese and Japanese) a class of forms used to show respect, especially in direct address.

  2. a title or term of respect.

Origin of honorific

1
First recorded in 1640–50, honorific is from the Latin word honōrificus honor-making. See honor, -i-, -fic

Other words from honorific

  • hon·or·if·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby honorific

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use honorific in a sentence

  • "Yes, Sir William—Mr. Fred," the man replied, evidently somewhat doubtful as to whether he was right in using the honorific.

    The Arbiter | Lady F. E. E. Bell
  • Abstention from labour is not only a honorific or meritorious act, but it presently comes to be a requisite of decency.

  • They are unprofitable servants, and there is an honorific implication for their master in their remaining unprofitable.

  • In order to completeness and full acceptability to the consumer it must also show the honorific element.

British Dictionary definitions for honorific

honorific

/ (ˌɒnəˈrɪfɪk) /


adjective
  1. showing or conferring honour or respect

    • (of a pronoun, verb inflection, etc) indicating the speaker's respect for the addressee or his acknowledgment of inferior status

    • (as noun): a Japanese honorific

Derived forms of honorific

  • honorifically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012