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Glite Dictionary
honorary degree

honorary degree

9 4.6
A title a university gives to show respect for someone's work without study or exams
  • noun
  • /ˈɑːnəˌrɛri dɪˈɡri/
  • Formal
translation icon : título honorario
  • The university awarded her an honorary degree in recognition of her outstanding contributions to science.
  • award of an honorary degree
  • received an honorary degree
  • many honorary degrees

Examples

  • Leta and Harry received honorary degrees at the University of Nebraska's spring commencement on Monday, June 6.

    Academic text (1990)

  • In recognition of her contributions to astronomy, Cannon received six honorary degrees, including one in 1925 from Oxford.

    Academic text (1992)

  • And today he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

  • Thanks for the honorary degree and have a great afternoon.

  • I have a number of honorary degrees.

    The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

  • Yale gave him an honorary degree, then Columbia.

    Tesla (2020)

  • The President Emeritus will present the honorary degree.

    Doctor Detroit (1983)

  • Sotomayor received an honorary degree.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The university he served for so long awarded him an honorary degree at the 1995 Commencement.

    Blog text (3)

  • In 1926, the University of Nebraska conferred upon him an honorary degree in recognition of his works.

    Academic text (2001)

Synonyms

LLD
vshonorary degree
  • Formal
1 9.4

An honorary law degree a university gives to honor someone

is the general award across subjects not limited to law
honoris causa
vshonorary degree
  • Formal
9.9

A degree given as an honor without completing the usual study

is the common English expression rather than the Latin form
ArtsD
vshonorary degree
  • Formal
8.9

A university gives a degree as an honor for work in the arts

is awarded across many fields not only for arts achievements

How Earned

doctorate
  • Specialized
58 7.0
degree
565 2.3
certificate
307 2.7
honorary degree
  • Formal
9 4.6

Surface Forms

honorary degree singular
honorary degrees plural

Morphology

honorary + degree

The adjective 'honorary' means given as an honor and 'degree' is an academic qualification, so a learner who knows both words can readily infer this is a degree awarded as an honor rather than through the usual study. The structure is a regular adjective+noun composition and the concept exists cross-linguistically (e.g., honoris causa), making the meaning transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Honorary degree comes from the simple idea of giving a degree as an honorary reward for someone's work. Imagine a university putting the cap and gown on a respected person to show respect even though they did not study there, so it means a degree given 'to honor' someone 'without the usual exams'.