The phrase "figure of respect" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to someone or something that is regarded with admiration or esteem.
Example: "In our culture, elders are often seen as a figure of respect, deserving of our attention and care."
Alternatives: "symbol of respect" or "mark of respect."
AGR: His association with the Declaration has made him a figure of respect there.
If he had cut his pay to beneath the prime minister's, he would be a figure of respect and the BBC's future would be considerably more secure.
His most important work as an artist was done in the 1950s and 60s; for a long time he had been essentially a figure of respect rather than influence.
… Stanley M. Perry, a Navajo who came to the powwow seeking support for an effort to save a sacred wetland in Kansas, said having a shared Mohawk figure of respect might also heal rifts.
Khandoba is also a figure of respect and worship to Muslims, and this affiliation is visible in the style of his temples.
The breaking open of the pedophilia scandal in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States over the last two years triggered similar fears about people long seen as figures of respect.
Like its predecessor, there's a queasy feeling of hero worship about it all, as real-life violent criminals are held up as figures of respect and, bizarrely, sympathy.
Laurence Maslon, an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a co-author of "Broadway: The American Musical," said Mr. Goggin "has taken advantage of the age-old dramatic fount of seeing figures of respect burlesqued".
Village mullahs, who performed a variety of religious services in exchange for fees, were often regarded as corrupt or buffoonish, the butt of jokes rather than figures of respect.
These facets of his persona combined to make him a figure worthy of respect, loyalty, and affection; he was a leader capable of making informed decisions, willing to act on those decisions, and skilled at persuading others to follow him.
He remains to this day a figure of enormous respect ‒ which is why Mongolians like Uelun want his tomb to remain undisturbed.
