Deferential has 4 syllables and the stress is on the third syllable.
| # | Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | English used to have two forms for "you," one intimate and one "polite." No more. But where status matters, and a deferential address is called for, the third person is pressed into service; and the headwaiter asks, "Does the gentleman want a table?" | |
| 2. | Vair, who was to be revered as a Sufi saint, was noticed in a bazaar because of his deferential bearing by a stranger, who, taking him for a slave, approached and asked, "Are you looking for your master?" | |
| 3. | No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; am an attendant lord, one that will do to swell a progress, start a scene or two, advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, deferential, glad to be of use, politic, cautious, and meticulous; full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; at times, indeed, almost ridiculous— almost, at times, the Fool. | |
| 4. | Tom was too deferential. |