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adj. 1. a. Not true to duty or obligation; disloyal or unfaithful. b. Breaking trust in a marriage or relationship by having sexual relations with someone other than one's spouse or sexual partner. 2. Having no religious faith. faithless·ly adv. faithless·ness n. Synonyms: faithless, unfaithful, false, disloyal, traitorous, perfidious These adjectives mean not true to duty or obligation. Faithless and unfaithful imply failure to adhere to promises, obligations, or allegiances: was faithless to her ideals; an unfaithful servant. False emphasizes deceitfulness or duplicity: "To thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man" (Shakespeare). One who is disloyal betrays an allegiance: disloyal staff members who exposed the senator's indiscretions. Traitorous most commonly refers to disloyalty to a government or nation: a traitorous double agent. Perfidious often connotes vile or contemptible behavior: "The propagandists also highlighted atrocities committed by enemy soldiers, in order to demonstrate the perfidious qualities of the enemy nation" (David A. Bell). |
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