with all due respect


with (all due) respect

A phrase used to politely disagree with someone. With all due respect, sir, I think we could look at this situation differently. With respect, I just don't see it that way.See also: respect

with all due respect

Although I think highly of you, as in With all due respect, you haven't really answered my question, or With all due respect, that account doesn't fit the facts. This phrase always precedes a polite disagreement with what a person has said or brings up a controversial point. [c. 1800] See also: all, due, respect

with all due respect

Although I give you appropriate consideration and deference. This polite little phrase, dating from 1800 or even earlier, always precedes a statement that either disagrees with what has been said or broaches a controversial point. Thus the Church Times (1978) stated, “With all due respect to your correspondents, I do not think they have answered M. J. Feaver’s question.”See also: all, due, respect