respect

To have high regard or admiration for a person or a thing is to show respect. This word can be used as a noun or as a verb:

• Students usually think highly of their teachers. They show respect to their teachers. (This sentence uses "respect" as a noun.)
• If you respect the law, you obey the law. (This sentence uses "respect" as a verb.)
• If you disrespect a police officer, you might get arrested. (The opposite of "respect" is "disrespect.")
• It’s important to have respect for other people, regardless of their skin color, gender, or religion.
• We have great respect for those people who have come before us and helped create the society in which we live.
• Oscar attended the funeral of his neighbor to show his respects to the family and to the man who passed away.
• A supervisor earns the respect of his or her employees by treating them fairly and in an even-handed manner.

A police officer deserves respect and earns respect by serving his community well.

The word "respectful" is an adjective:

• Young people should be respectful towards older people.
• The audience was attentive and respectful throughout the performance.
• The boy was thrown out of the classroom because he wasn’t being respectful towards the teacher. He was being disrespectful.
• I respectfully disagree with what you said. (The word "respectfully" is an adverb.)

The word "respectable" is also an adjective:

• Bill comes from a respectable family.
• Dr. Michelle is a respectable member of the community.
• Several respectable leaders of the community gave their approval for a new homeless shelter.
• Bernie Sanders has a respectable amount of support for the nomination of his party. (He has a lot of support.)

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February 15, 2016