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

Examples 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 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 She then can be redeemed only by killing the faithless Prince. Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 8 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for faithless 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faithless
Adjective
  • Guinevere, usually relegated to the thankless role of traitorous wife, acts here as Arthur’s beloved confidante.
    Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
  • And somewhere between them on the war/peace continuum sit the men on Rhaenyra’s borderline traitorous council.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 30 June 2024
Adjective
  • By seeking a forensic examination to access text messages and metadata, the plaintiffs aimed to move beyond potentially unreliable screenshots to establish a full and accurate picture of the communications, and the court agreed.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • The long hours and lack of backup have created an environment where human errors are more likely, leading to unreliable tests and creating more work for the lab’s skeleton crew.
    Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Not least because they could easily be employed to provide a false impression of impartiality, while actually hiding their own biases in a way that the audience might not even be aware of.
    Federico Guerrini, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
  • The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
    Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, Austin American-Statesman, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • In a separate interview, the former NFL player admits that he’s been unfaithful during his relationship with Brown.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 5 Dec. 2024
  • News of their breakup came as a shock to most fans, some of whom took to Reddit to share their speculation about the update –– many of whom think Keoghan was unfaithful to the songstress.
    Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Hawai`i’s statehood itself results from a treacherous cabal of business interests–Dole among them–conspiring together on a scheme to wrest control of the land away from Native Hawaiians and give it the U.S.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
  • The Sunday evening and Monday morning commutes are likely to be treacherous.
    Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 15 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near faithless

Cite this Entry

“Faithless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faithless. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on faithless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!