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# respectful

adjective (respectful, more respectful, most respectful); adverb: respectfully

«respectful» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Showing respect: being polite and considerate to other people, their feelings, things and beliefs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#m1)
2. Treating places, animals and nature with care. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#m2)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x1)
- We were respectful and quiet in the museum. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x2)
- It's respectful to knock before you go into a room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x3)
- Be respectful of other people's beliefs and cultures. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x4)
- The crowd stood in respectful silence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x5)
- He spoke respectfully to the old man. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x6)
- Being respectful to animals means not teasing them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x7)
- But the Dogs kept them all at a respectful distance, and the Sheep grazed in perfect safety. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/#x8)

### Note

«Respectful» (showing respect) is different from «respectable» (good and decent, worthy of respect) — a common confusion. Opposite: disrespectful, rude.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «respectful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/respectful/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«respectful» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/respectful.html) on Mova free.