Trivia Time

Who wrote and originally recorded the 1965 blockbuster hit "Respect"?

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respect

American  

[ri-spekt] / rɪˈspɛkt /

noun

• respects
  plural

1. a particular, detail, or point (usually preceded byin ).

   to differ in some respect.

   Synonyms:

   matter, feature, regard

2. relation or reference.

   inquiries with respect to a route.

   Synonyms:

   connection, regard

3. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.

   I have great respect for her judgment.

   Synonyms:

   honor, homage, reverence, estimation

4. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment.

   respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.

5. the condition of being esteemed or honored.

   to be held in respect.

6. respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship.

   Give my respects to your parents.

7. favor or partiality.

   Synonyms:

   preference, bias

8. Archaic. a consideration.

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verb (used with object)

• respects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• respected,
  past participle,  past
• respecting
  present participle

1. to hold in esteem or honor.

   I cannot respect a cheat.

   Synonyms:

   admire, consider, venerate, revere

2. to show regard or consideration for.

   to respect someone's rights.

   Synonyms:

   heed

3. to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with.

   to respect a person's privacy.

4. to relate or have reference to.

idioms

1. pay one's respects,

   1. to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc..

      We paid our respects to the new neighbors.

   2. to express one's sympathy, especially to survivors following a death.

      We paid our respects to the family.

2. in respect that, because of; since.

3. in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning.

4. with respect to, referring to; concerning.

   with respect to your latest request.

respect British  

/ rɪˈspɛkt /

noun

1. an attitude of deference, admiration, or esteem; regard

2. the state of being honoured or esteemed

3. a detail, point, or characteristic; particular

   he differs in some respects from his son

4. reference or relation (esp in the phrases in respect of , with respect to )

5. polite or kind regard; consideration

   respect for people's feelings

6. (often plural) an expression of esteem or regard (esp in the phrase pay one's respects )

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verb

1. to have an attitude of esteem towards; show or have respect for

   to respect one's elders

2. to pay proper attention to; not violate

   to respect Swiss neutrality

3. to show consideration for; treat courteously or kindly

4. archaic to concern or refer to

respect More Idioms  

1. see in regard (respect) to; pay a call (one's respects); with all due respect.

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Synonym Usage

Respect, esteem, veneration imply recognition of personal qualities by approbation, deference, and more or less affection. Respect is commonly the result of admiration and approbation, together with deference: to feel respect for a great scholar. Esteem is deference combined with admiration and often with affection: to hold a friend in great esteem. Veneration is an almost religious attitude of deep respect, reverence, and love, such as we feel for persons or things of outstanding superiority, endeared by long association: veneration for one's grandparents, for noble traditions.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quasi-respected
  adjective
• underrespected
  adjective
• unrespected
  adjective
• well-respected
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• respects
  plural

Participles

• respecting
  present
• respected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• respect
  simple
• respects
  simple
• have respected
  perfect
• has respected
  perfect
• am respecting
  progressive
• are respecting
  progressive
• is respecting
  progressive
• have been respecting
  perfect progressive
• has been respecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• respected
  simple
• had respected
  perfect
• was respecting
  progressive
• were respecting
  progressive
• had been respecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will respect
  simple
• will have respected
  perfect
• will be respecting
  progressive
• will have been respecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of respect

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun from Old French or directly from Latin respectus “action of looking back, consideration, regard,” equivalent to respec-, variant stem of respicere “to look back” ( re- “back” + specere “to look”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; verb from Latin respectus, past participle of respicere; see re-

Explanation

Respect is a way of treating or thinking about something or someone. If you respect your teacher, you admire her and treat her well. People respect others who are impressive for any reason, such as being in authority — like a teacher or cop — or being older — like a grandparent. You show respect by being polite and kind. For a lot of people, taking your hat off is a show of respect. When people are insulted or treated badly, they feel they haven't been treated with respect. You can respect things as well as people. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance shows respect to your country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

respect respects respected respecting

In the video, Laporta said the club had great respect for Atletico but the bid they lodged earlier this summer was still on offer.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

"My wife and I believe in treating others the way that we'd like to be treated, with decency and respect," Pence, a devout Christian, told CNN.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Whatever the outcome, I respect the process,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said,” he told Cohen, referencing his former fixer’s recent criticisms of Bragg and James.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

Everywhere I see the results of Tūtū’s love and care for her plants and respect for the soils they grow in.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

The Washington Post respects the arbitration process, a representative for the newspaper said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

After all, the tech trade is in many respects the only game in town.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

When appointing him as acting minister, Zelensky had said that "Khmara has gained extensive and, in many respects, unprecedented experience with technological combat operations."

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

“ByteDance respects the intellectual property rights that underpin creative industries around the world, and we believe responsible innovation in AI goes hand in hand with meaningful protections for rightsholders,” ByteDance’s Rogovin said in the statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“After all, it’s the usual thing to do, isn’t it, to pay one’s respects to a bride?”

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

The liturgical norms to be respected "are not constraints but guidelines, rules, fixed points," he said, calling sacred art "an absolutely important message of revelation".

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Bill Lay, the owner of five restaurants in Key West, supports legal pathways for foreign workers, but believes current immigration laws should be respected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

At the time, then Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes criticised "dithering" on the decision but said national security was important and must be respected.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

He was described by local farmer Sally Crystal as "highly respected" and a man who "ran a very, very good shoot".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Back then, he was seventeen, and I was seven, but we were both very good at soccer, so we respected each other like men.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Dozens of men, women and children died in the surprise attack, but, respecting kinship ties, the attacking Mohawks spared all save one of the 30 pro-English Mohawks inside the stockade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

"It's not a matter of not respecting you, but this is attacking my family's faith," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Article 4, Section 3 of the Constitution confers on Congress the exclusive power to “dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the … property of the United States.”

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Meeks knows when and where to give his lead character distance, respecting that opacity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

I hastened to drive from my mind the hateful notion I had been conceiving respecting Grace Poole; it disgusted me.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• appreciation
• awe
• consideration
• deference
• dignity
• esteem
• fear
• honor
• recognition
• regard
• reverence
• tribute