respectfully
adverb
Simple meaning
Politely, in a way that shows you value someone.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihspehktfuhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪsˈpɛktfəli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a respectful manner
“Might I respectfully suggest to the Town Council that they should adopt a policy of masterly inactivity?”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
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More ways to use respectfully
- “Might I respectfully suggest to the Town Council that they should adopt a policy of masterly inactivity?”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Full of or exhibiting respect.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: in a respectful manner
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.