respectfully

UK/ɹɪˈspɛkt.fə.li/US/ɹɪˈspɛkt.fə.li/

adverbB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,098 of 15,258leans spoken

Respectfully means in a way that shows proper regard. Respectfully disagree, respectfully submitted, treat them respectfully.

I respectfully disagree is a formula that softens a flat contradiction, and it usually precedes a very firm one. Respectfully yours is a formal letter ending and is more distant than sincerely, which is why it appears in official correspondence.

Definitions of respectfully

1adverbrespectfullyIn a way that shows proper regard.B2
“The students stood respectfully as the old soldier walked onto the stage.”

respectfully is a manner.

Where it comes from

From respectful + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

respectfully in the wild

Strobl was among those approached but he respectfully declined, feeling his more cartoony artstyle was ill-suited for such a serious character.
Tony Strobl
On her interview with Larry King in 2003 she said that she respectfully accepted her father's apologies for the way he treated her and her siblings as children.
La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family
Today, the term is used as a way to respectfully address women of any social rank.
Khanum
As only a month had lapsed since their defense, NYYC respectfully declined, claiming the need of a full year to recover prior to entertaining another challenge.
1964 America's Cup

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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