Synonym Chooser

How is the word faithless different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of faithless are disloyal, false, perfidious, traitorous, and treacherous. While all these words mean "untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance," faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

When can disloyal be used instead of faithless?

The synonyms disloyal and faithless are sometimes interchangeable, but disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When could false be used to replace faithless?

In some situations, the words false and faithless are roughly equivalent. However, false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

How do perfidious and faithless relate to one another?

Perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

When is traitorous a more appropriate choice than faithless?

While the synonyms traitorous and faithless are close in meaning, traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

When might treacherous be a better fit than faithless?

The meanings of treacherous and faithless largely overlap; however, treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of faithless Since Biden is no longer in the running, they won't be considered faithless. Kaleigh Rogers, ABC News, 23 July 2024 Nellore admits to being of faithless background yet criticizes people of faith. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2024 Image In the Patricia Highsmith novel and the subsequent Hitchcock movie that introduced this intriguing plot to the public, the would-be victims are mere annoyances — a critical father, a faithless wife. Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024 In Her Car follows Lydia, a psychologist with anxiety issues on her way to Kharkiv to divorce her faithless husband who spots a young woman at a bus station and decides to give a young woman a lift. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for faithless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faithless
Adjective
  • But what will their first move as a traitorous duo be?
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
  • The blame for this terrifying scenario, McCarthy declared, rested with traitorous federal employees, who had sold their country out and had to be purged from its service.
    Made by History, TIME, 9 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This wasn’t merely a technical glitch but a life-altering ordeal for someone who faced serious criminal charges based on algorithms that proved unreliable.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
  • Flashbacks featuring both what actually happened in the White House that evening and versions presented by unreliable witnesses accompany the investigation.
    Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • As part of the scheme, prosecutors said Bock and Said submitted false documentation to the Minnesota Department of Education, including fraudulent meal counts and fake attendance rosters.
    Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The pivotal addition to the the state Civil Code reads: Existing law provides that libel is a false and unprivileged written publication that injures the reputation and that slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, that injures the reputation, as specified.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Emmy has stood by Will's side throughout it all, especially because he's denied being unfaithful.
    Dave Quinn, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
  • In the present day, Alice, Brett, perfectionistic realtor Catherine (Aja Naomi King) and sloppy socialite Birdie (Melissa Fumero) are garden club buddies dealing with separate personal issues, like dead pets, unfaithful spouses and child custody battles.
    Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Their stories are full of danger: treacherous rivers, unforgiving terrain, and the constant threat of violence and exploitation.
    Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
  • But in between lies a tense and treacherous journey…In Wolof and French with English subtitles.
    Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Faithless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faithless. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.

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