disrespectful
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disrespectful
Showing behavior that disregards the feelings, dignity, rights, or authority of other people and shows no respect.
Seine respektlose Antwort auf die Frage des Professors sorgte für betretenes Schweigen.
His disrespectful answer to the professor's question caused an embarrassed silence.
The adjective is formed from the noun 'der Respekt' (respect) and the ending '-los' (-less). The ending '-los' means 'without', so 'respektlos' (disrespectful) literally means 'without respect'.
Sein Tonfall war unhöflich und respektlos.
His tone was rude and disrespectful.
To say toward whom someone is being disrespectful, you use the preposition 'gegenüber' (toward/to) with the dative. The preposition can stand before or after the noun or pronoun.
Er hat sich seinen Eltern gegenüber sehr respektlos verhalten.
He behaved very disrespectfully toward his parents.
Not only people can be 'respektlos' (disrespectful), but also their actions or words. Typical combinations are 'respektloses Verhalten' (disrespectful behavior), 'eine respektlose Antwort' (a disrespectful answer), or 'eine respektlose Geste' (a disrespectful gesture).
Das war eine wirklich respektlose Bemerkung von dir.
That was a really disrespectful remark from you.
polite
'höflich' and 'respektlos' are opposites in behavior toward other people. 'höflich' means that someone shows respect and is considerate. 'respektlos' means that someone does not respect another person's feelings, rights, or position. 'respektlos' especially emphasizes a lack of respect, for example toward parents, teachers, customers, or colleagues. 'höflich' fits when someone remains proper and friendly.
Am Wochenende findet die Familie seine Worte gegenüber den Gästen respektlos.
At the weekend, the family finds his words toward the guests disrespectful.
Vor der Reise hat der Kunde bei der Arbeit höflich um einen neuen Termin gebeten.
Before the trip, the customer politely asked for a new appointment at work.