Meriting respect or esteem (6)
I believe the answer is:
worthy
'meriting respect or esteem' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for worthy that I've seen before include "Good enough" , "Creditable" , "esteemed dignitary" , "Deserving, having great merit" , "Suitable; deserving effort" .)