respect

[ ri-spekt ]
See synonyms for respect on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a particular, detail, or point (usually preceded by in): to differ in some respect.

  2. relation or reference: inquiries with respect to a route.

  1. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.

  2. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.

  3. the condition of being esteemed or honored: to be held in respect.

  4. respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship: Give my respects to your parents.

  5. favor or partiality.

  6. Archaic. a consideration.

verb (used with object)
  1. to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat.

  2. to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights.

  1. to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with: to respect a person's privacy.

  2. to relate or have reference to.

Idioms about respect

  1. in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning.

  2. in respect that, Archaic. because of; since.

  1. pay one's respects,

    • to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc.: We paid our respects to the new neighbors.

    • to express one's sympathy, especially to survivors following a death: We paid our respects to the family.

  2. with respect to, referring to; concerning: with respect to your latest request.

Origin of respect

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun from Old French or directly from Latin respectus “action of looking back, consideration, regard,” equivalent to respec-, variant stem of respicere “to look back” (re- “back” + specere “to look”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; verb from Latin respectus, past participle of respicere; see re-

synonym study For respect

3. Respect, esteem, veneration imply recognition of personal qualities by approbation, deference, and more or less affection. Respect is commonly the result of admiration and approbation, together with deference: to feel respect for a great scholar. Esteem is deference combined with admiration and often with affection: to hold a friend in great esteem. Veneration is an almost religious attitude of deep respect, reverence, and love, such as we feel for persons or things of outstanding superiority, endeared by long association: veneration for one's grandparents, for noble traditions.

word story For respect

In Middle English, the more common meanings of the noun respect ( respect, respecte ) are “relation, relationship, regard, consideration” (still current meanings), present in Old French respect and Latin respectus, literally, “the act of looking back.”
The meaning “esteem for a person, thing, or quality” first appeared in 1526; the corresponding verb meaning “to hold in esteem” is first recorded in 1583. The prepositional phrase with respect to “referring to; concerning” dates to the mid-16th century. The plural noun respects “a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship” dates to the first half of the 17th century; the phrase to pay one’s respects “to make a visit in order to welcome, greet, etc., or to express one's sympathy, especially after a death” dates to the middle of the 17th century.

Other words for respect

Other words from respect

  • qua·si-re·spect·ed, adjective
  • un·der·re·spect·ed, adjective
  • un·re·spect·ed, adjective
  • well-re·spect·ed, adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for respect

respect

/ (rɪˈspɛkt) /


noun
  1. an attitude of deference, admiration, or esteem; regard

  2. the state of being honoured or esteemed

  1. a detail, point, or characteristic; particular: he differs in some respects from his son

  2. reference or relation (esp in the phrases in respect of, with respect to)

  3. polite or kind regard; consideration: respect for people's feelings

  4. (often plural) an expression of esteem or regard (esp in the phrase pay one's respects)

verb(tr)
  1. to have an attitude of esteem towards; show or have respect for: to respect one's elders

  2. to pay proper attention to; not violate: to respect Swiss neutrality

  1. to show consideration for; treat courteously or kindly

  2. archaic to concern or refer to

Origin of respect

1
C14: from Latin rēspicere to look back, pay attention to, from re- + specere to look

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with respect

respect

see in regard (respect) to; pay a call (one's respects); with all due respect.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.