The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word HONOURABLE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
H
O
N
O
U
R
A
B
L
E
More clues leading to the result HONOURABLE
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "worthy of respect" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case worthy of respect = honourable.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HONOURABLE mean?
HONOURABLE adjective- Worthy of respect; respectable.
- A courtesy title, given in Britain and the Commonwealth to a cabinet minister, minister of state, or senator, and in the United States to the president, vice president, congresspeople, state governors and legislators, and mayors.