Respect Word Search for a Character Education Lesson

Press New puzzle for 15 respect words, then print the sheet with a writing strip and its answer key.

Name Date

Respect Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 15 words found

WZNEESOBITYWMIQ

IROEQRPOLITEAHC

UNWCULTUREOUNWN

VKKDAOVNTEEENOG

HEIELPXDIACCEPT

WAPPOLTAKETURNS

IRWMNEYRPQNKSES

FLUTAABYRTRNAPR

AXAROSRUINCLUDE

ILLHWEQJVHFHRJI

RIOUSGSUAHONEST

SSOSBPHHCHWITQX

STGEQACRYWKOUMM

IESBORROWWUGRAO

RNOSIIDVRDSTNJD

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

ListenLISTEN
PolitePOLITE
MannersMANNERS
Take turnsTAKE TURNS
PleasePLEASE
FairFAIR
IncludeINCLUDE
AcceptACCEPT
CultureCULTURE
PrivacyPRIVACY
BoundaryBOUNDARY
EqualEQUAL
BorrowBORROW
ReturnRETURN
HonestHONEST

15 of 24 words from the Respect list.

Write one way of showing respect at school. Use three of the words you found.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

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Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Respect Word Search

WZNEESOBITYWMIQ

IROEQRPOLITEAHC

UNWCULTUREOUNWN

VKKDAOVNTEEENOG

HEIELPXDIACCEPT

WAPPOLTAKETURNS

IRWMNEYRPQNKSES

FLUTAABYRTRNAPR

AXAROSRUINCLUDE

ILLHWEQJVHFHRJI

RIOUSGSUAHONEST

SSOSBPHHCHWITQX

STGEQACRYWKOUMM

IESBORROWWUGRAO

RNOSIIDVRDSTNJD

LISTEN, POLITE, MANNERS, TAKE TURNS, PLEASE, FAIR, INCLUDE, ACCEPT, CULTURE, PRIVACY, BOUNDARY, EQUAL, BORROW, RETURN, HONEST

Next step Make a word search from your own class rules Make a respect word scramble

All 135 words

What Respect Looks Like 18

Ask first What to do before you borrow, touch or photograph something that is not yours.
Courteous Polite and thoughtful toward other people.
Etiquette The accepted rules of polite behavior in a group or a place, such as at a dinner table.
Excuse me What you say to get past someone, or before you break into a conversation.
Eye contact Looking at the person who is speaking to you.
Hold the door A small courtesy for the person walking in behind you.
Indoor voice The quieter volume you use inside a building.
Knock To tap on a closed door and pause before you go in.
Listen To pay attention to what someone is saying, without planning your reply while they talk.
Manners The everyday habits, such as saying please, that show you think of other people.
Patient Able to wait calmly without complaining.
Please The word you add when you ask for something.
Polite Showing good manners in the way you speak and act.
Punctual On time. Arriving when you said you would shows that other people's time matters.
Raise hand What you do in class to show you want to speak, in place of calling out.
Take turns To go one after another, so that each person gets a chance.
Thank you Two words you say when someone gives you something or helps you.
Wait To stay where you are until it is your turn.

Show all 135 words (117 more)

Respect for Others 25

Accept To take people as they are, without asking them to change.
Belief Something a person holds to be true, such as a faith or a value.
Boundary A limit a person sets about what is okay with them, such as hugs or borrowing.
Consent A clear yes from a person before you do something that affects them.
Culture The shared customs, foods, art and beliefs of a group of people.
Different Not the same. People are, in looks, language, beliefs and what they can do.
Disagree To hold another opinion. It can be done without raising your voice.
Diversity The mix of backgrounds, languages and abilities in one group.
Elders Older people, whose experience many cultures teach the young to honor.
Equal Having the same worth and the same rights as everyone else.
Fair Treating people by the same rules, without favorites.
Heritage The history and customs a person gets from family and ancestors.
Include To make someone part of the group or the game.
Justice Fair treatment for everyone under the same rules.
Language The words a people speaks. Learning a greeting in a classmate's own is a friendly start.
Open mind A readiness to hear a new idea before you judge it.
Opinion What a person thinks about something. Two people can hold two that do not match.
Permission An okay from the owner or the adult in charge, given before you act.
Privacy The right to keep your own things, space and information to yourself.
Pronounce To say a name the way its owner says it.
Religion A system of faith and worship. Classmates may follow one, another or none.
Rights The freedoms and protections every person is owed.
Tolerance Willingness to let others hold beliefs and ways that are not yours.
Tradition A custom handed down in a family or a culture, year after year.
Viewpoint The way one person sees a matter. It may not match yours.

Respect for Rules and Places 25

Authority The power to make decisions and give directions, such as a teacher or a principal has.
Borrow To use something of another person's for a while, with their okay.
Careful Taking pains not to break, spill or harm anything.
Clean up To put a space back the way you found it.
Equipment Shared gear, such as balls, tablets or microscopes, that the next class needs too.
Good sport A player who follows the rules and stays gracious, win or lose.
Hallway The school corridor, where a class passes without disturbing the rooms at work.
Honest Telling the truth, even when it is hard.
Laws The rules of a city, state or country, made by a government.
Library A shared room of books, where voices stay low.
Line up To stand one behind another without pushing.
Obey To do what a rule or a person in charge tells you to do.
Opponent The person or team you play against, who deserves a fair game.
Owner The person a thing belongs to.
Property A thing that belongs to someone, or to the school.
Quiet Making little noise, as in a library or during a test.
Referee The official who enforces the rules of a game such as soccer or basketball.
Responsible Trusted to do what you said you would, and to own up when you did not.
Return To give a thing back, on time and in the shape you got it.
Rules What a class, a game or a place agrees everyone must follow.
Shake hands What two players or two teams do at the end of a game.
Signs Posted words or pictures that tell visitors what a place expects.
Tidy Neat and in order, the way to leave a room you have used.
Trust The belief that someone will do what they say. It is slow to build and quick to break.
Umpire The official who makes the calls in baseball, softball, cricket and tennis.

Respect for Yourself 16

Character The kind of person you are, shown by what you do.
Conscience The inner sense that tells you right from wrong.
Dignity The worth every person has, just for being a person.
Hygiene Keeping your body clean, such as washing hands and brushing teeth.
Integrity Doing the right thing even when nobody is watching.
Limits The lines you set for yourself and others: the point where you stop.
Modest Not boastful about what you have or what you can do.
Pride A good feeling about who you are or what you have done.
Reputation What other people think of you, built from how you act.
Say no Two short words that turn down something that feels wrong.
Self care Looking after your own body and mind: sleep, food, washing and rest.
Self control The power to stop and think before you act or speak.
Self worth The sense that you matter.
Speak up To tell someone when a thing is not right, for yourself or for another person.
Standards The level of behavior you expect from yourself.
Values The things a person believes matter most, such as honesty or family.

Signs of Respect 15

Anthem The official song of a country. People often stand for it.
Bow To lower the head and upper body toward someone. It is an everyday greeting in Japan, Korea and much of Asia.
Ceremony A formal event with set steps, such as a graduation.
Curtsy A traditional greeting where a woman or girl bends at the knees and dips her head.
Flag A country's banner, which is raised, lowered and folded with care.
Homage Honor shown in public to a person or an idea.
Honor Great regard. Also, to show it, as a town does for its heroes.
Madam A polite form of address for a woman.
Memorial A place or a day set aside to remember people who have died.
Monument A statue or structure built so that a person or an event is remembered.
Namaste A greeting from India, given with the palms pressed together and the head lowered a little. It means bowing to you.
Salute A formal gesture of honor, such as a soldier's right hand raised to the head.
Sir A polite form of address for a man.
Tribute Something said or done to show admiration for a person.
Uniform Matching clothing that shows membership in a team, a school or a service.

Words That Mean Respect 15

Admire To think highly of someone for what they do or how they act.
Civility Polite behavior toward people you disagree with or do not know.
Consider To think about how your actions will affect others before you act.
Decency Ordinary good behavior that people expect of one another.
Deference Giving way to the wishes or judgment of another person, often someone older.
Earn To get something by how you act over time. Trust works this way.
Esteem High regard. To hold someone in it is to think well of them.
Golden Rule Treat others as you would want to be treated. Most religions teach a form of it.
Humility Knowing that you are no more important than anyone else.
Look up to To admire a person and want to be like them.
Mutual Going both ways: given and received by both people.
Regard Care and consideration for someone or something.
Respect Care for the feelings, rights and wishes of other people. It comes from a Latin word for looking back at.
Revere To honor deeply, almost with awe.
Role model A person whose behavior others copy.

What Respect Is Not 21

Bias A leaning for or against someone that is not based on the facts.
Brag To talk too proudly about yourself.
Bully A person who hurts or frightens someone again and again. Also the verb for doing it.
Cut in line To step ahead of people who were waiting first.
Eavesdrop To listen in secret to a conversation you are not part of.
Exclude To leave someone out on purpose.
Eye roll A look toward the ceiling that says, without words, I do not care what you said.
Ignore To act as if a person is not there or has not spoken.
Insult Words meant to hurt a person's feelings.
Interrupt To start talking while someone else is still speaking.
Mock To make fun of someone by copying them in an unkind way.
Name calling Using unkind labels for a person.
Prejudice An opinion about a person formed before you know them.
Put down A remark that makes someone feel small.
Rude Not polite. Speaking or acting with no thought for other people.
Rumor A story passed from person to person that may not be true.
Sarcasm Saying the opposite of what you mean in order to sting.
Stereotype A fixed idea about a whole group that ignores how each member differs.
Talk back To answer an adult in a rude way.
Taunt To say things meant to upset or anger someone.
Tease To poke fun at someone. It stops being a joke when only one side laughs.

How this list was compiled: 135 respect words and short phrases chosen and defined for this site for a character-education lesson: seven themed lists (what respect looks like, respect for others, respect for rules and places, respect for yourself, signs of respect, words that mean respect, what respect is not), a 24-word starter list, 12 short words and every entry of 8 letters or more. The list was written for this page and copies no word list of a character-education program. It names no brand and no real person. The manners and sharing words are left to the kindness word search and the friend words to the friendship word search. Facts were checked on 19 September 2026 at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/respect https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/namaste https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtsy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salute and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umpire Licence: own work

How it works

Take turns, Privacy and Borrow are among the 24 starter words of this respect word search. Seven themed lists run from What Respect Looks Like to What Respect Is Not, and a writing strip prints under the word list.

Read the full guide

Three kinds of respect, seven lists

What Respect Looks Like holds 18 entries, such as Raise hand and Excuse me. Respect for Others has 25, from Opinion and Culture to Consent, and Respect for Rules and Places 25, from Borrow and Return to Good sport. Respect for Yourself has 16, Signs of Respect 15, such as Bow, Salute and Namaste, and Words That Mean Respect 15.

The writing strip

Under the word list the sheet prints a task above two ruled lines: Write one way of showing respect at school. Use three of the words you found. For a class discussion, pick What Respect Is Not.

Signs of Respect travels: Bow is an everyday greeting in Japan and Korea, and Namaste means bowing to you.

Questions and answers

What words are in the respect word search?

It holds 135 words and phrases in seven lists: manners, other people, rules and places, yourself, signs of respect, synonyms and opposites. Self respect is left out because Respect sits inside it, so Self worth and Dignity stand in.

Is the word Respect itself in the puzzle?

Yes, in the starter list and in Words That Mean Respect. Its clue gives the origin, a Latin word for looking back at: respectus, from the verb respicio, to look at or to look back upon.

Which list has the opposite of respect?

What Respect Is Not. It spells disrespect out in 21 mild words, such as Interrupt, Eye roll and Cut in line. No insult and no slur is on it, so the list is safe to print for a class discussion.

How do I use a respect word search in a character education lesson?

Print the opening puzzle, let pupils solve it, then have them fill the writing strip. For grades 6 to 8, pick Respect for Others, which holds Tolerance, Viewpoint and Consent, and tick Show clues, not words to print meanings in place of the word list.

All 135 words

What Respect Looks Like 18

Respect for Others 25

Respect for Rules and Places 25

Respect for Yourself 16

Signs of Respect 15

Words That Mean Respect 15

What Respect Is Not 21

How it works

Three kinds of respect, seven lists

The writing strip

Questions and answers

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