reverential

[rev-uh-ren-shuhl]

adjective

1. of the nature of or characterized by reverence; reverent.

   reverential awe.

reverential

/ ˌrɛvəˈrɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. resulting from or showing reverence

   a pilgrimage is a reverential act, performed by reverent people

Other Word Forms

• reverentiality noun
• reverentialness noun
• reverentially adverb
• nonreverential adjective
• nonreverentially adverb
• unreverential adjective
• unreverentially adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of reverential¹

First recorded in 1545–55; reverent + -ial

Example Sentences

Snider’s slow, elegantly understated and, within bounds, reverential opera operates as much as a passion play as an opera.

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“Gram was very reverential about the Opry stars, but the audience wasn’t ready for it. Of course, a few years later, everybody had long hair, and then you had Southern rock.”

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“I’m creating my own vision of the artist’s unfinished masterpiece, torn between a feeling of reverential awe and profound admiration,” he told Wallpaper.

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I think there's a reverential approach that is just as, if not more, valuable.

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It’s as if he’s claiming nature’s untrampled territory with his reverential gaze — a distinctly political act for a colonizer.

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Related Words

• admiring 
• deferential 
• polite 
• solemn 
• worshipful