These words refer to the relative degree of respect that someone is given by society in general or that someone attains by virtue of his accomplishments. Position is the most general, indicating one’s relative acceptance by society, one’s recognized professional attainments or one’s place in any structured order: families of wealth and position ; a scholar of unimpeachable position in the academic world; assuming the position of treasurer for the club. Standing is a good deal m ore vague than position , referring to one’s place, high or low, in any graduated order: people who have no standing in their own communities; a member in good standing . In the latter example, the sense is restricted to minimal acceptance that puts one on an equal footing with other of a given group.

Rank may function in the same three areas as position , but it tends to suggest a more definable placement, such as one indicated by a specific title given by a hierarchical order: the highest rank of the nobility; attaining the rank of associate professor that year. The word is particularly pertinent to military positions : the rank of staff-sergeant. Status has become the most fashionable of these words refer to all the indefinable qualities that make up social or professional success: a teacher of high rank but of little status among his colleagues. Unqualified, it suggests social acceptance: the constant striving for status in the middle classes. In this use, the word often has a negative tone and suggests the placing of undue emphasis on material values.