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Definition of "deferent" [def•er•ent]

  • Showing deference; deferential. (adjective)
  • Anatomy Carrying down or away. Used of a duct or vessel. (adjective)
  • Serving or adapted to carry or transport. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "deferent" in a sentence
  • "Whatever it is, it’s recognizable by many in deferent ways that keeps them coming."
  • "It must be remembered that the apparent planetary motions are epicyclical, each planet revolving in its own orbit, the epicycle, around the sun, and with the sun, as centre of the epicycle, apparently around the earth in a common orbit, which is called the deferent orbit."
  • "Meanwhile, Francine, the family's long-serving and eager-to-leave maid, finds her polite and deferent veneer punctured at the end of a lengthy and explosive conflict in which her husband Albert tries to intervene physically."