Deferential
Deferential adjective - Marked by or showing proper regard for another's higher status.
Usage example: the man had the deferential attitude of someone who had been a servant his entire life
Polite is a synonym for deferential in courteous topic. In some cases you can use "Polite" instead an adjective "Deferential", when it comes to topics like respectful, reverential. popular alternative
Polite
Polite adjective - Showing consideration, courtesy, and good manners.
Usage example: it's only polite to hold the door for the person behind you
Deferential is a synonym for polite in mannerly topic. You can use "Deferential" instead an adjective "Polite", if it concerns topics such as courteous, reverential, well mannered. popular alternative
Nearby Words: politeness, politely
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- attentive and deferential
- attentive and polite
- agreeable and deferential
- agreeable and polite
- kind and deferential
- kind and polite
- gentle and deferential
- gentle and polite
- gracious and deferential
- gracious and polite
- considerate and deferential
- considerate and polite
- obliging and deferential
- obliging and polite
Both words in one sentence
- Michel, Viscount Stokington is one of these, usually insulting or mocking the other characters in his narration while being polite or deferential in his dialogue.
Source: First-Person Smartass -
Establishing Character Moment: Soichiro Irie is pleasant, polite, and deferential to a fault... until Director Sezaki leaves the room.
Source: Visual Novel / Kiss of Revenge - Buntaro is also a somewhat sympathetic case, as he does genuinely try to control himself and reconcile with her, and Mariko explicitly says that she deliberately angers him with her eternally polite and icily deferential behaviour.
Cite this Source
Polite and Deferential. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 13, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/deferential/polite
Deferential & Polite. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/deferential/polite>.
Polite or Deferential. 2016. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/deferential/polite.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "deferential" and "polite" have occurred on timeline