different between respect vs tact

English

Etymology

From Middle English respect, from Old French respect, also respit (“respect, regard, consideration”), from Latin respectus (“a looking at, regard, respect”), perfect passive participle of respici? (“look at, look back upon, respect”), from re- (“back”) + speci? (“to see”). Doublet of respite.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???sp?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt
• Hyphenation: re?spect

Noun

respect (countable and uncountable, plural respects)

1. (uncountable) an attitude of consideration or high regard

   Synonyms: deference, esteem, consideration, regard, fealty, reverence, aught

2. (uncountable) good opinion, honor, or admiration

   Synonyms: admiration, esteem, reverence, regard, recognition, veneration, honor

3. (uncountable, always plural) Polite greetings, often offered as condolences after a death.

4. (countable) a particular aspect, feature or detail of something
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 36:

     In our two loves there is but one respect

   Synonyms: aspect, dimension, face, facet, side

5. Good will; favor
   • 1611, King James Version, Exodus 2:25:

     And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "respect": great, high, utmost, absolute

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• respective

Translations

Verb

respect (third-person singular simple present respects, present participle respecting, simple past and past participle respected)

1. To have respect for.

2. To have regard for something, to observe a custom, practice, rule or right.

3. To abide by an agreement.

4. To take notice of; to regard as worthy of special consideration; to heed.
5. (transitive, dated except in "respecting") To relate to; to be concerned with.
   • 1806, James Lee, An Introduction to Botany:

     Glandulation respects the secretory vessels, which are either glandules, follicles, or utricles.
6. (obsolete) To regard; to consider; to deem.
7. (obsolete) To look toward; to face.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• (to have respect for): esteem, honor, revere, venerate
• (to regard as worthy of special consideration): esteem, value
• (to abide by an agreement): honor

Antonyms

• (to have respect for): contemn, despect (verb) (archaic), despise, dis, diss, disrespect (verb)
• (to regard as worthy of special consideration): belittle, ignore, neglect, slight

Translations

Interjection

respect

1. (Jamaican) hello, hi

References

• respect at OneLook Dictionary Search
• respect in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• respect in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• respect in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Sceptre, recepts, scepter, sceptre, specter, spectre

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French respect, from Old French respect, from Latin respectus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /r?s?p?kt/, /r??sp?kt/
• Hyphenation: res?pect
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

respect n (uncountable)

1. respect

   Synonym: eerbied

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: respek
• ? Indonesian: respek

French

Etymology

From Latin respectus. Doublet of répit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.p?/

Noun

respect m (plural respects)

1. respect

Derived terms

• avec tout le respect que je vous dois
• respecter
• respectueux
• sauf votre respect
• tenir en respect

Further reading

• “respect” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• spectre

Jamaican Creole

Alternative forms

• respeck

Etymology

From English respect.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???s?sp?k/
• Hyphenation: res?pect

Interjection

respect

1. greetings, hello, hi
   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

2. bye, goodbye
   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

See also

• guidance
• manners
• protection

Noun

respect

1. respect

   Synonym: ratings

Derived terms

• respect due

Verb

respect

1. respect

   Synonym: rate

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French respect, Latin respectus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /res?pekt/

Noun

respect n (uncountable)

1. respect, consideration, deference, esteem, regard

   Synonym: stim?

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• respect in DEX online - Dic?ionare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin t?ctus. Sense “keen perception” developed in French tact.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Noun

tact (countable and uncountable, plural tacts)

1. The sense of touch; feeling. [from 1650s]
   • 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society

     Did you suppose that I could not make myself sensible to tact as well as sight?

   • 1881, Joseph LeConte, Sight: An Exposition on the Principles of Monocular and Binocular Vision

     Now, sight is a very refined tact.

2. (music) The stroke in beating time.
3. Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing. [from early 19th c.]

   Synonyms: sensitivity, consideration, diplomacy, tactfulness

4. (slang) Clipping of tactic.
   • 2006 "Block Party", Corner Gas

     Wanda "Hey, can you show us?"
     Karen "No"
     Brent "We promise not to make fun of you."
     Karen "No"
     Lacey "Okay, we promise TO make fun of you."
     Karen "I'm getting a drink"
     Lacey "I was trying a different tact."
     Wanda "Bad tack."

5. (psychology) A verbal operant which is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (such as an object, event, or property of an object) and is maintained by nonspecific social reinforcement (praise).
   • 2013, Jacob L. Gewirtz, William M. Kurtines, Jacob L. Lamb, Intersections With Attachment

     Skinner (1957) saw such tacts as responses that are reinforced socially.

Derived terms

• tactful
• tactless

Translations

Verb

tact (third-person singular simple present tacts, present participle tacting, simple past and past participle tacted)

1. (psychology) To use a tact (a kind of verbal operant; see noun sense).

Further reading

• tact on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• tact in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• tact in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

Anagrams

• Catt

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French tact.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?kt/
• Hyphenation: tact
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

tact m (uncountable)

1. tact, discernment

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tactus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /takt/

Noun

tact m (plural tacts)

1. tact

Related terms

• tactile

Further reading

• “tact” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).