Overdeference
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Excessive deference. uncountable
"When the question of expulsion was agitated, Lord Finch stepped forward and made attempts to speak in Steele's behalf, but being embarrassed by modesty and overdeference to an assembly in which he had not yet been accustomed to hold forth, he sat down in visible confusion, saying so as to be over hear, "It is strange I can't speak for this man, though I could readily fight for him.""
Example
More examples"When the question of expulsion was agitated, Lord Finch stepped forward and made attempts to speak in Steele's behalf, but being embarrassed by modesty and overdeference to an assembly in which he had not yet been accustomed to hold forth, he sat down in visible confusion, saying so as to be over hear, "It is strange I can't speak for this man, though I could readily fight for him.""
Etymology
From over- + deference.
More for "overdeference"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.