75 Respect Quotes

Respect often stands as the cornerstone of meaningful human interactions, shaping the way we perceive and treat others. It transcends cultures, generations, and beliefs, fostering an environment of mutual understanding and kindness. In our quest to highlight the essence of respect, we've curated a collection of the top 75 respect quotes. These words of wisdom, drawn from a diverse array of voices, offer profound insights and timeless reminders of the value of honoring and appreciating others. Whether you're seeking inspiration for personal reflection or looking to imbue your relationships with deeper consideration, these quotes are sure to resonate and inspire.

1. “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” - Albert Einstein

2. “In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Bramin, priest of Brahma and Vishnu and Indra, who still sits in his temple on the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.” - Henry David Thoreau

3. “Respect is a close relative of tolerance, and both go a long way to prevent and alleviate the negative interactions between and among people. Respect was a member of each Lakota household during the free-roaming buffalo-hunting days on the northern plains.” - Joseph M. Marshall III

4. “We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.” - H.L. Mencken

5. “I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit.” - Theodore Roosevelt

6. “A wise mother knows: It is her state of consciousness that matters. Her gentleness and clarity command respect. Her love creates security.” - Vimala McClure

7. “I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow, it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time.” - Isaac Asimov

8. “I keep what I know about Sarah Lynn and Lawrence to myself. I also remind myself that even if Sarah Lynn does have a scary strict father, that doesn't release her from the responsibility of treating others with respect. Abuse of power is wrong, no matter the context, no matter the history.What is "power" anyway? Power is an ego trip. Power is a way to rise yourself up by lowering others, and I want nothing of it.” - Lauren Myracle

9. “So many men treat their wives badly, or indifferently, or with barely contained impatience. Josh doesn't mind-- no that's not right--he insists on openly showing his love and respect for me.” - Lynn Morris

10. “You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.” - Mary J. Blige

11. “When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet deep down in his private heart no man much respects himself.” - Mark Twain

12. “She respected her husband in the same way as she respected the General Post Office, as something large, secure and fixed: and though she knew the small number of his talents she appreciated his abstract value as a male.” - James Joyce

13. “In order to survive, a plurality of true communities would require not egalitarianism and tolerance but knowledge, an understanding of the necessity of local differences, and respect. Respect, I think, always implies imagination - the ability to see one another, across our inevitable differences, as living souls. (pg. 181, Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community)” - Wendell Berry

14. “We all love animals. Why do we call some "pets" and others "dinner?” - k.d. lang

15. “Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.” - Wm. Paul Young

16. “About once or twice every month I engage in public debates with those whose pressing need it is to woo and to win the approval of supernatural beings. Very often, when I give my view that there is no supernatural dimension, and certainly not one that is only or especially available to the faithful, and that the natural world is wonderful enough—and even miraculous enough if you insist—I attract pitying looks and anxious questions. How, in that case, I am asked, do I find meaning and purpose in life? How does a mere and gross materialist, with no expectation of a life to come, decide what, if anything, is worth caring about?Depending on my mood, I sometimes but not always refrain from pointing out what a breathtakingly insulting and patronizing question this is. (It is on a par with the equally subtle inquiry: Since you don't believe in our god, what stops you from stealing and lying and raping and killing to your heart's content?) Just as the answer to the latter question is: self-respect and the desire for the respect of others—while in the meantime it is precisely those who think they have divine permission who are truly capable of any atrocity—so the answer to the first question falls into two parts. A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so. Whereas if one sought to define meaninglessness and futility, the idea that a human life should be expended in the guilty, fearful, self-obsessed propitiation of supernatural nonentities… but there, there. Enough.” - Christopher Hitchens

17. “Anyone who teaches me deserves my respect, honoring and attention.” - Sonia Rumzi

18. “It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters,” - Amit Ray

19. “He had all the attributes of a perfect man, and, in my opinion, no finer personality ever existed.{Edison's opinion of the great Robert Ingersoll}” - thomas edison

20. “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” - Confucius

21. “Outwardly, other than her hair, she had not changed much. She was still more or less the same cool, aloof woman who garnered more respect than affection. On the inside, however, it had been impossible to return to the person she used to be.” - Sherry Thomas

22. “It is when we think we can act like God, that all respect is lost, and I think this is the downfall of peace. We lie if we say we do not see color and culture and difference. We fool ourselves and cheat ourselves when we say that all of us are the same. We should not want to be the same as others and we should not want others to be the same as us. Rather, we ought to glory and shine in all of our differences, flaunting them fabulously for all to see! It is never a conformity that we need! We need not to conform! What we need is to burst out into all these beautiful colors!” - C. JoyBell C.

23. “We should keep the dead before our eyes, and honor them as though still living” - Confucius

24. “At the same time believers realise that the defects they see in one another are tests from Allah. For this reason they don't call attention to these defects, but compensate for them by acting positively. They carefully avoid the slightest action, facial expression or word that would suggest ridicule.” - Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar)

25. “I don't care if you're black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Simple as that.” - Robert Michaels MD - 2007 - Graduation Speaker

26. “Reverence is an emotion that we can nurture in our very young children, respect is an attitude that we instill in our children as they become school-agers, and responsibility is an act that we inspire in our children as they grow through the middle years and become adolescents.” - Zoe Weil

27. “Then, Patrick, you do feel it too? You do feel ... something? It would be so bleak if you felt nothing. That's what scares women, you know.''I do know, and you needn't be scared. I feel something all right.''Promise me you'll always treat me as a person.''I promise.''Promises are so easily given.''I'll fulfill this one. Let me show you.'After a shaky start he was comfortably in the swing of it, having recognised he was on familiar ground after all. Experience had brought him to see that this kind of thing was nothing more than the levying of cock-tax, was reasonable and normal, in fact, even though some other parts of experience strongly suggested that what he had shelled out so far was only a down payment.” - Kingsley Amis

28. “At some point, one asks, "Toward what end is my life lived?" A great freedom comes from being able to answer that question. A sleeper can be decoyed out of bed by the sheer beauty of dawn on the open seas. Part of my job, as I see it, is to allow that to happen. Sleepers like me need at some point to rise and take their turn on morning watch for the sake of the planet, but also for their own sake, for the enrichment of their lives. From the deserts of Namibia to the razor-backed Himalayas, there are wonderful creatures that have roamed the Earth much longer than we, creatures that not only are worthy of our respect but could teach us about ourselves.” - Diane Ackerman

29. “I do understand what love is, and that is one of the reasons I can never again be a Christian. Love is not self denial. Love is not blood and suffering. Love is not murdering your son to appease your own vanity. Love is not hatred or wrath, consigning billions of people to eternal torture because they have offended your ego or disobeyed your rules. Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being.” - Dan Barker

30. “And what made these heart-to-hearts possible--you might even say what made the whole friendship possible during that time--was this understanding we had that anything we told each other during these moments would be treated with careful respect: that we'd honor confidences, and that no matter how much we rowed, we wouldn't use against each other anything we'd talked about during those sessions.” - Kazuo Ishiguro

31. “It is offensive that so many people feel that it is okay to publicly refer to transsexuals as being “pre-op” or “post-op” when it would so clearly be degrading and demeaning to regularly describe all boys and men as being either “circumcised” or “uncircumcised.” - Julia Serano

32. “It’s not so much the journey that’s important; as is the way that we treat those we encounter and those around us, along the way” - Jeremy Aldana

33. “I grant men the land, the government, the wealth, all the chances. I accept that you have to hold all the cards, since that's the only way you know how to play; but I refuse to swallow your disrespect.” - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

34. “As you change your point of view, your views bring about a change in you.” - George Alexiou

35. “I want to lay my kill at your feet.” - Annette Curtis Klause

36. “You cannot give out one frequency, that of disrespect, and expect respect to flow toward you. Neither can you hold on to your biases, prejudices, and negative thinking toward something, and expect that something positive will return to you.” - Stephen Richards

37. “You are evidence of your mother's strength, especially if you are a rebellious knucklehead and regardless she has always maintained her sanity.” - Criss Jami

38. “[L]asting love is something a person has to decide to experience. Lifelong monogamous devotion is just not natural—not for women even, and emphatically not for men. It requires what, for lack of a better term, we can call an act of will. . . . This isn't to say that a young man can't hope to be seized by love. . . . But whether the sheer fury of a man's feelings accurately gauges their likely endurance is another question. The ardor will surely fade, sooner or later, and the marriage will then live or die on respect, practical compatibility, simple affection, and (these days, especially) determination. With the help of these things, something worthy of the label 'love' can last until death. But it will be a different kind of love from the kind that began the marriage. Will it be a richer love, a deeper love, a more spiritual love? Opinions vary. But it's certainly a more impressive love.” - Robert Wright

39. “Sorrow spares no one, and scars respect no person.” - Sherrilyn Kenyon

40. “Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.” - Tahir Shah

41. “The immoral can no more earn respectThan the envious be rich.” - Tiruvalluvar

42. “How can you still count yourself a knight, when you have forsaken every vow you ever swore?" Jaime reached for the flagon to refill his cup. "So many vows...they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or the other.” - George R.R. Martin

43. “Understanding your dog and knowing how to control him, develop his potentials, and resolve behavior problems, emotional conflicts and frustrations are no less essential than love and respect.” - Michael W. Fox

44. “People can have their opinions about everything in the world, but people's opinions end where the tip of my nose begins. Your opinions of others can only go so far as to where their own shoreline is. The world is for your taking, but other people are not. One is only allowed to have an opinion of me, if that person is done educating him/herself on everything about me. Before people educate themselves on everything about you, they're not allowed to open their venomous mouthes and have an opinion about you.” - C. JoyBell C.

45. “You have a unique gift to offer this world. Be true to yourself, be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests you and keep away from people who bring you down. When you treat yourself kindly and respect the uniqueness of those around you, you will be giving this world an amazing gift... YOU!” - Steve Maraboli

46. “Respecter une femme, c'est pouvoir envisager l'amitié avec elle ; ce qui n'exclut pas le jeu de la séduction, et même, dans certains cas, le désir et l'amour.” - Tahar Ben Jelloun

47. “Respect is not creative ... Chanel is an institution, and you have to treat an institution like a whore — and then you get something out of her.” - Karl Lagerfeld

48. “The moment you put someone on a pedestal they will look down upon you. The trick is respecting each other equally.” - Teresa Mummert

49. “His Majesty, may he live forever and prosper greatly...His Majesty, may sun finches warble sweet melodies in his ear...His Majesty, may orchids bloom in the wake of his passing...His Majesty, may minstrels compose epics at the sound of his glorious name...His Majesty, may his magnificent sword shatter the breasts of his enemies...” - Rae Carson

50. “Earlier in this book I noted that one of my favorite sayings is “You get what you tolerate.” This applies in spades to your relationships. Failing to speak up about something carries the implication that you are OK with it—that you are prepared to continue tolerating it. As a companion saying goes, “Silence means consent.” If you tolerate snide or offensive remarks from your boss or colleague, the remarks will continue. If you tolerate your spouse’s lack of consideration for your feelings, it will continue. If you tolerate the disregard of people who regularly turn up late for meetings or social engagements, they will continue to keep you cooling your heels. If you tolerate your child’s lack of respect, you will continue to get no respect. Each time you tolerate a behavior, you are subtly teaching that person that it is OK to treat you that way.” - Margie Warrell

51. “The best gifts one can give to someone are not things, the best ones to offer are a little Time, Love, Care and Respect.” - Venkat Desireddy

52. “If I were to vote, I would intentionally vote for the goofiest candidate. It is my theory that when the people can outwit the leader, the more respected their voices will be.” - Criss Jami

53. “Any titles, money, or privilege you inherit are actually hindrances. They delude you into believing you are owed respect.” - Robert Greene

54. “Now I know that strange things happen to your body when it meets the snow at 100 mph, no matter what the position. In the twinkling of hitting the snow I regained a proper respect for speed. If you are inattentive, as well as somewhat stupid, you may breed a contempt for big speeds, forgetting respect through the grace of being atop your skis each run. No one on his back at 100 mph will ever after have contempt for speed.” - Dick Dorworth

55. “Without trust and respect, only fear and distrust of others' motives and intentions are left. Without trust and respect between parties, it is nearly impossible to find good solutions to effective communication.” - Deborah A. Beasley

56. “He stops pacing. 'I know, Miranda, I did it because I—' 'Stop! Don't say it. I don't want to hear you say it.' 'I have to say it,' Noah says. 'No, you don't.' If I hear him say the word love, I don't know what I'll do. I still have my gun. Maybe one day I can forgive him, but all chance of that goes out the window if he claims he did it for love. If you love someone, the idea is respect them enough to trust them. Not to take away their freedom. Their life.” - Dan Krokos

57. “How could he possibly bow deeply enough to honor a thousand-year-old samurai queen?” - Nadia Scrieva

58. “How little we really know about the life all around us. Would we be so cavalier and ruthless with it if we understood it better?” - William Longgood

59. “Gallantry emits respect.” - Toba Beta

60. “If she does not respect you, she will replace you.” - Habeeb Akande

61. “Self-pity, while it should be accorded due respect, is the greatest of all acids to the human soul.” - Paul Hoffman

62. “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” - Bryant McGill

63. “It is an extremely unfortunate fact, that there are those who see the morale of respect as something that is beneficial to the other person on the receiving end, rather than something that is beneficial to the one who is capable of giving the respect! Because that's simply not how it works; the person who is capable of discerning respect and giving it to others, is the person who is better! There are people who believe that the virtue of respect and the ability to discern when to give respect and in which amounts to give it, belongs to the lower class! Oh I beg, I beg to differ! No. And no and no! If I am able to discern the amounts of respect to be given so that I may function as a beaming member of society, this virtue illuminates ME; this virtue does not illuminate those whom I give the respect to! Respect is known by the illuminated being!s” - C. JoyBell C.

64. “Some people like living in black and white worlds. Let them stay there. Appreciate all the colors you see in your world though.” - Ashly Lorenzana

65. “Any religion can be compared to the attic of an old home. Unless the attic is regularly cleaned, it gathers dust and cobwebs and eventually becomes unusable. Similarly, if a religion cannot be updated or cleaned from time to time, it loses its usefulness and cannot relate anymore to changed times and people.” - Swami Bhaskarananda

66. “When you devalue ethics and morals by proclaiming that our attitude toward them should be casual or lenient, you can't be surprised by a rising generation who then behaves disrespectfully, treating life, people, and choices as if they possess little value or worth.  For whether or not that was the intention, society has taught them to believe thusly.” - Richelle E. Goodrich

67. “Respect Death and You Live In Life” - Christopher Thames

68. “Love and respect changes everything.” - Bryant McGill

69. “Be beautiful if you can, wise if you want to, but be respected - that is essential.” - Anna Gould

70. “The relationship you take for granted is the one that needs the greatest work.” - George Alexiou

71. “We must stop treating the environment possessively, and as an expendable commodity.” - Bryant McGill

72. “Men can never have the true power they were endowed with by creation, until they respect and protect the women and children of the world.” - Bryant McGill

73. “We must resist impulses to attack people, their credibility or their nature, and focus only on sharing our own positive creations, contributions, ideas and solutions.” - Bryant McGill

74. “Place your allegiance and respect in what is everlasting and real, not in the transitory and false.” - Bryant McGill

75. “Every soul is beautiful and precious; is worthy of dignity and respect, and deserving of peace, joy and love.” - Bryant McGill