How to Use deference in a Sentence

deference

noun
  • He is shown much deference by his colleagues.
  • Her relatives treat one another with deference.
  • Spent in deference, as ever, to those with much more than me.
    — Lawrence Jackson, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • Rare are those who, for any reason, earn that kind of deference.
    — Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Day said those plans were scrapped in deference to taking no chances with the virus.
    — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 14 Dec. 2020
  • Thomas seemed to take a shot at that deference to precedent by Roberts.
    — Fox News, 29 June 2020
  • Murray made clear his deference to James will end come tipoff tonight.
    — Jeff McDonald, ExpressNews.com, 29 Dec. 2020
  • The law requires deference to the work of state court judges, but what if those judges hadn’t done the work?
    — Anat Rubin, ProPublica, 4 Nov. 2023
  • That show of deference — urged by advisors — has yet to pay off.
    — Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2021
  • In some places, these trends point toward a certain kind of deference.
    — Samuel Goldman, The Week, 19 Jan. 2022
  • Few bars have the same deference and reverence for kissas.
    — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 24 Nov. 2025
  • The deference is real, but so is the demand.
    — Luis E. Romero, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
  • Noah always seemed eager to get above the fray and treated guests with deference and awe.
    — Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2022
  • Normally in these months, my whole life is lived in deference to the season.
    — Sarah Grant, SPIN, 19 Aug. 2022
  • There has been a deference that has been given in the past,’’ Murphy said.
    — Christopher Keating, courant.com, 9 July 2018
  • For the business lobby, killing Chevron deference is the big brass ring.
    — Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Mar. 2022
  • In Japan, he is treated with even more deference — and esteem.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
  • In deference to his Shabbat clients, his rig didn’t blast music.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • We are done performing deference to leaders who have not earned it and do not deserve it.
    — Rachel O'Leary Carmona, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2026
  • There is a deference that the White House has to senators from a state.
    — Paul Gattis | [email protected], al, 5 Feb. 2022
  • Lin wrote the lyrics that pay deference to all of the towns in Puerto Rico.
    — Andres Tardio, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2017
  • This gives the least amount of deference to the government’s reason for having that law.
    — Tom Spiggle, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2021
  • Heneghan and Peng’s approach was one of visual deference.
    — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The drums should be the loudest in any mix — live or recorded — and the drummer shown the greatest deference.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2020
  • On its face, that sounds a lot like the Supreme Court applied Chevron deference.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 20 June 2022
  • But in deference to the surrender seeker, only one section of the trip will be shared at a time.
    — Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
  • There still seems to be some deference to the real estate masters of the universe in the way the language is framed.
    — Peter J Reilly, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2021
  • The women were wearing sun suits in deference to the chilliness of the morning.
    — Jamie Hale, OregonLive.com, 20 June 2017
  • Inflation is not the only peril such deference would invite, or even the worst.
    — Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Your culture of urgency and deference is not a weakness in your people.
    — Jason Walker Psyd, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deference.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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