Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "deferential" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "deferential" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "deferential", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "deferential" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
8 total sentences available.
English used to have two forms for "you," one intimate and one "polite." No more. But where status matters, and a deferential address is called for, the third person is pressed into service; and the headwaiter asks, "Does the gentleman want a table?"
Source: tatoeba (2065089)
Vair, who was to be revered as a Sufi saint, was noticed in a bazaar because of his deferential bearing by a stranger, who, taking him for a slave, approached and asked, "Are you looking for your master?"
Source: tatoeba (2076304)
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; am an attendant lord, one that will do to swell a progress, start a scene or two, advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, deferential, glad to be of use, politic, cautious, and meticulous; full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; at times, indeed, almost ridiculous— almost, at times, the Fool.
Source: tatoeba (3465288)
Tom was too deferential.
Source: tatoeba (5747357)
Showing 4 of 8 available sentences.
Closest matches include accommodating, affable, agreeable, attentive, bowed.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.