respectful
part of speech
adjective (respectful, more respectful, most respectful); adverb: respectfully
meaning for a pupil
1) Showing respect: being polite and considerate to other people, their feelings, things and beliefs. tree →
2) Treating places, animals and nature with care. tree →
sense in the lessons
In manners and citizenship lessons, being respectful means listening when others speak, using kind words, taking turns, asking before borrowing, respecting personal space, and being polite to older people and people who are different from you. At memorials and services, people stay respectfully quiet. Phrases: be respectful of/to/towards, respectful silence, respectfully.
examples
- Be respectful and listen when others are talking. tree →
- We were respectful and quiet in the museum. tree →
- It's respectful to knock before you go into a room. tree →
- Be respectful of other people's beliefs and cultures. tree →
- The crowd stood in respectful silence. tree →
- He spoke respectfully to the old man. tree →
- Being respectful to animals means not teasing them. tree →
- But the Dogs kept them all at a respectful distance, and the Sheep grazed in perfect safety. tree →
note
«Respectful» (showing respect) is different from «respectable» (good and decent, worthy of respect) — a common confusion. Opposite: disrespectful, rude.
In the corpora
- «Good morning, gentlemen!» says I, very respectful.
- "With all due respect" sounds respectful, but it nearly always comes just before "you are wrong".
- You can even disagree with an adult, if you are polite and explain your reason calmly; respectful words make adults listen.
- "Namaste" with palms pressed together is a respectful Indian and Nepali greeting.
- When classmates celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah or Lunar New Year, you are respectful of their traditions.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «respectful» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.