From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe/stand in awe of somebodybe/stand in awe of somebody (also hold somebody in awe)ADMIRE to admire someone and have great respect for them and sometimes a slight fear of them All of the neighbours were a little in awe of my mother. The villagers hold them in awe and think of them as gods. → awe
Examples from the Corpus
be/stand in awe of somebody• The rest of us might also stand in awe of his season.• Gelb was clearly in awe of his friend's strength and perseverance.• In the time of hunting and gathering, humans stood in awe of beasts.• Excommunication also remained out of the question because much of the Church membership stood in awe of these exploits.• Business people stand in awe of power people who make things happen.• Most people stand in awe of these agglomerations of power, admit their inability to fight them, and submit.• Glasser still stands in awe of this formidable, feckless man.• They stood in awe of her and they did just what she bade them. 