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Respect vs Understanding - What's the difference?

respect | understanding |

In uncountable terms the difference between respect and understanding

is that respect is good opinion, honor, or admiration while understanding is sympathy.

In countable terms the difference between respect and understanding

is that respect is a particular aspect of something while understanding is a reconciliation of differences.

As an interjection respect

is hello, hi.

As an adjective understanding is

showing compassion.

respect

English

Noun

  • (uncountable) an attitude of consideration or high
  • He is an intellectual giant, and I have great respect for him.
    we do respect people for their dignity and worth.
  • (uncountable) good opinion, honor, or admiration
  • (uncountable, always plural) Polite greetings, often offered as condolences after a death.
  • The mourners paid their last respects to the deceased poet.
  • (countable) a particular aspect of something
  • This year's model is superior to last year's in several respects .

    Usage notes

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

    Synonyms

    * (attitude of consideration) deference, consideration, regard, fealty * (good opinion) admiration, esteem, reverence, regard, recognition, veneration, honor * * (aspect) aspect, facet, face, side, dimension

    Antonyms

    * disrespect (note: also has verb meaning) * contempt * disdain * scorn * contumely * irreverence * disparagement

    Derived terms

    * final respects * in many respects * last respects * with respect to

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to have respect for.
  • She is an intellectual giant, and I respect her greatly.
  • to have regard for something, to observe a custom, practice, rule or right
  • I respect your right to hold that belief, although I think it is nonsense.
  • to abide by an agreement.
  • They failed to respect the treaty they had signed, and invaded.
  • To take notice of; to regard as worthy of special consideration; to heed.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Thou respectest not spilling Edward's blood.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • In orchards and gardens, we do not so much respect beauty as variety of ground for fruits, trees, and herbs.
  • To relate to; to be concerned with.
  • * J. Lee
  • Glandulation respects the secretory vessels, which are either glandules, follicles, or utricles.
  • (obsolete) To regard; to consider; to deem.
  • * Ben Jonson
  • To whom my father gave this name of Gaspar, / And as his own respected him to death.
  • (obsolete) To look toward; to face.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • Palladius adviseth, the front of his house should so respect the South

    Antonyms

    * dis * disrespect

    Usage notes

    It is possible that a confusion between the different meanings of respect affects the attitudes of people and organizations. For example: * The freedom of religion implies that we must respect protect the right of anyone to believe whatever they wish, to act within the law in accordance with their beliefs, and not to be discriminated against on account of their beliefs. :* Changes in the use of the word respect seems to have shifted our attitudes towards the quite different notion that we must behave respectfully politely towards their beliefs, and not criticize them. :* This is a restriction on freedom of speech, and is inherently hypocritical—anyone with any view on religion must necessarily believe that those who believe differently are deluded, although their rights must be respected observed. The distinction between the two meanings can be shown by paraphrasing Voltaire: "I totally disrespect what you say, but absolutely respect your right to say it. "

    Derived terms

    * respectability * respectable * respected * respectful * disrespect (note: also has noun meaning)

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (Jamaica) hello, hi
  • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    understanding

    Noun

  • (uncountable) Mental, sometimes emotional process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, which is subjective by its nature.
  • (countable) Reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
  • (countable) Opinion, judgement or outlook.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The machine of a new soul , passage=The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.}}
  • (countable) An informal contract, mutual agreement.
  • (countable) A reconciliation of differences.
  • (uncountable) Sympathy.
  • All that people individually sense and feel of themselves.
  • See also

    * intellection

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Showing compassion.
  • Verb

    (head)
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […];  […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.}}