honorific

American  

[on-uh-rif-ik] / ˌɒn əˈrɪf ɪk /

adjective

1. Also honorifical. doing or conferring honor.

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

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noun

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

2. a title or term of respect.

honorific British  

/ ˌɒnəˈrɪfɪk /

adjective

1. showing or conferring honour or respect

2. 1. (of a pronoun, verb inflection, etc) indicating the speaker's respect for the addressee or his acknowledgment of inferior status

   2. ( as noun )

      a Japanese honorific

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Other Word Forms

• honorifically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of honorific

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

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Explanation

If you greet your bus driver every day by saying, "Good Morning, Ms. Smith!" then you're familiar with honorifics, the respectful titles we add to people's names. In Ms. Smith's case, the honorific is Ms. The most common honorifics in English are the ones we put in front of names, like Mr., Dr., and Reverend and even new coinages like the gender-neutral Mx., which was first attested in the late 1970s. There are military honorifics such as Captain and General, and religious honorifics, including Rabbi, Father, and Imam. Some honorifics come at the end of a person's name: "Mateo Garcia, PhD," and "Angela Smith, DDS," for example. The word honorific is also an adjective meaning "showing respect," as in an honorific award or an honorific title.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

honorific

Three of these are the honorific academies, with elected membership earned, permanent and under no obligation to produce reports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Hours after Garcia announced Morales’ transition job, the Board of Trustees gathered to vote on granting him the honorific title of professor emeritus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The problem is that not everyone can be mother, and it takes a certain style of cinematic performance to earn such an honorific distinction.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

State media soon afterwards showed a projectile said to be launched at Israel bearing the slogan, "At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba", using an Islamic honorific.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

The title was largely honorific, but it enabled him to carry a badge and to lead posses, and he sometimes kept one pistol in his side pocket and another strapped to his hip.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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