honorific

[ on-uh-rif-ik ]

/ ˌɒn əˈrɪf ɪk /

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See synonyms for honorific on Thesaurus.com

adjective

Also hon·or·if·i·cal. doing or conferring honor.

conveying honor, as a title or a grammatical form used in speaking to or about a superior, elder, etc.

noun

(in certain languages, as Chinese and Japanese) a class of forms used to show respect, especially in direct address.

a title or term of respect.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of honorific

First recorded in 1640–50, honorific is from the Latin word honōrificus honor-making. See honor, -i-, -fic

OTHER WORDS FROM honorific

hon·or·if·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby honorific

honor bright, honor camp, honored, honoree, honor guard, honorific, honoris causa, Honorius, Honorius I, Honorius II, Honorius III

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use honorific in a sentence

The policy also suggests that gender in official records should be independent of the student’s honorific titles in the legal documents.
India’s first gender-neutral university garners praise|Ankush Kumar|April 4, 2022|Washington Blade
It’s honorific, and when I received my knighthood from Her Majesty it was done in a very low-key manner in her private office, only three of us were in the room, myself, my wife and Her Majesty.
Colin Powell Reflects on His Mistakes in This Unpublished TIME Interview|Belinda Luscombe|October 19, 2021|Time
The meaning of this title may have been honorific, but it is also striking.
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots|Candida Moss|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She does not carry the honorific title HRH as she is descended through the female line.
Zara Phillips Gives Birth To A Baby Girl|Tom Sykes|January 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Ab eo igitur tpore Patres nostros perhumaniter habuit, atque honorific in omnibus, mensque benign accepit.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
"Yes, Sir William—Mr. Fred," the man replied, evidently somewhat doubtful as to whether he was right in using the honorific.
The Arbiter|Lady F. E. E. Bell
Abstention from labour is not only a honorific or meritorious act, but it presently comes to be a requisite of decency.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
They are unprofitable servants, and there is an honorific implication for their master in their remaining unprofitable.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
In order to completeness and full acceptability to the consumer it must also show the honorific element.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen

British Dictionary definitions for honorific

honorific

/ (ˌɒnəˈrɪfɪk) /

adjective

showing or conferring honour or respect

(of a pronoun, verb inflection, etc) indicating the speaker's respect for the addressee or his acknowledgment of inferior status
(as noun)a Japanese honorific

Derived forms of honorific

honorifically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

honorific

Origin of honorific

OTHER WORDS FROM honorific

Words nearby honorific

Words related to honorific

How to use honorific in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for honorific

Derived forms of honorific