as in pious
formal
showing or having a lot of respect
a reverential attitude They spoke in reverential terms about their recently departed spiritual advisor.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reverential
Based on Elijah Wald’s hour-by-hour countdown Dylan Goes Electric!, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown is a quirky, engaging and (thankfully) never reverential biopic that tracks the journey of Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) from acoustic folk to rock amplification.
—
Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2025
Freed from the demands of a typical episode, in which whatever Donald Trump happened to say that morning could upend entire sketches, the team found clever, reverential ways to play in the deep sandbox of SNL’s past and present.
—Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2025
After receiving the Living Legend Award from a reverential, cigarette-smoking Bono, Sinatra, who choked up immediately, launched into an acceptance speech dotted with humorous anecdotes and pauses.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2025
Some of the press has called me negatively reverential to Maria Callas.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for reverential
Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2025
Freed from the demands of a typical episode, in which whatever Donald Trump happened to say that morning could upend entire sketches, the team found clever, reverential ways to play in the deep sandbox of SNL’s past and present.
—Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2025
After receiving the Living Legend Award from a reverential, cigarette-smoking Bono, Sinatra, who choked up immediately, launched into an acceptance speech dotted with humorous anecdotes and pauses.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2025
Some of the press has called me negatively reverential to Maria Callas.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for reverential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reverential
Adjective
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Each letter comes across as a set piece, a small achievement of style and tone: Vasari’s flowery, deferential missives to the duke, Maria’s youthful ardor and confusion, the overly pious cattiness of a nun.—
Chelsea Leu,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
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For pious viewers who may traditionally shy away from the horror genre, The Bondsman may surprise with some very tender and spiritual moments.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Jihan, 30, who worked in a farm supply store, had found those forces professional and respectful.—
Christina Goldbaum,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
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When Black women have access to respectful, quality care before, during, and after pregnancy, their families and communities thrive.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The most captivating of the three love stories is Smoke’s reunion with Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), a Hoodoo conjurer and Orisha spiritual healer who runs a small plantation store, where their infant son is buried outside under an oak tree.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
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This choice jells with the Spanish psytrance producer’s generally hard aesthetic: her intricate music — laced with a spiritual chants and loaded with kickdrum — is intense, as are looks favoring latex and snakes as accessories.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The learning process for me over the course of the first two years was to not be as reverent of the original.—
Rick Porter,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
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The Sundance online platform has allowed for a more democratic festival experience (feature film tickets cost $35) when stacked against its peer events, which are reverent to theaters only and in less accessible locations.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Khan-Ghany has encouraged her Muslim students to be proud of their religious and cultural upbringings.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2025
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The men, many traveling separately, were on a religious pilgrimage to a Hungarian town formerly known as Kerestir.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The secret in the biscuits is the pairing of cheddar with bacon, with the overall result being worshipful thanks from those who are lucky enough to partake.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2025
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Her chef and housekeeper, Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher), is timid and worshipful but able to take quietly decisive action when necessary.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
25 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Reverential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reverential. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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