12 uses
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Definition
polite respect — often when submitting to another's wishes
- He devoted himself to Fanny with such sympathetic deference she even smiled at him, and the meal went well.3.17 (14% in)
- Evidently he had overheard the whole conversation, for he grinned up at her as maliciously as a tomcat, and again his eyes went over her, in a gaze totally devoid of the deference she was accustomed to.1.6 (17% in)
- Usually he was so kind and treated her with a careless deference that made her feel grown up, and Carreen secretly dreamed of the day when she would put her hair up and her skirts down and receive him as a real beau.1.6 (30% in)
- But they treated her deferentially, as if she were old and finished, and their constant chatter of dances and beaux made her both envious of their pleasures and resentful that her widowhood barred her from such activities.2.8 (99% in)
- He was gravely deferential to the vague Gerald but it was to Scarlett that he turned as the real head of the house.3.30 (85% in)
- They made a point of being deferential to men's opinions, whether they were guided by them or not.4.36 (88% in)
- He did not call at the house now, probably in deference to the feelings of Frank and Pitty who would have been outraged at a male caller while Scarlett was in a delicate condition.4.38 (65% in)
- So, in deference to public opinion, he skipped all mention of Purgatory.4.40 (32% in)
- Her mother's old friends clustered about her, for Melanie had a respectful deference to her elders that was very soothing to dowagers in these wild days when young people seemed to have forgotten all their manners.4.41 (48% in)
- Even Aunt Pitty, downstairs in the library, was not rocking her creaking chair in deference to Scarlett's sorrow.4.47 (2% in)
- They all loved her but they thought her the sweetest, most pliable of young women, deferential to her elders and without any opinions of her own.5.49 (9% in)
- But instead of discharging Mammy or being short and stern with her, Rhett treated her with the utmost deference, with far more courtesy than he treated any of the ladies of Scarlett's recent acquaintance.5.49 (43% in)
There are no more uses of "deference" in Gone with the Wind.
Typical Usage
(best examples)