perfidy
Americannoun
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deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery.
perfidy that goes unpunished.
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an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.
noun
Synonym Usage
See disloyalty.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perfidy
1585–95; < Latin perfidia faithlessness, equivalent to perfid ( us ) faithless, literally, through (i.e., beyond the limits of ) faith ( per- per- + fid ( ēs ) faith + -us adj. suffix) + -ia -y 3
Explanation
If you shared your most embarrassing secrets with a friend who then told them to everyone he knows, his betrayal could be described as perfidy. The noun perfidy means "deceitfulness" or "treachery," so it's not just being mean, but deliberately betraying a trust. The Latin root of perfidy is made up of per, or "through," and fidem, or "faith." So in order for perfidy to happen, there has to have first been a sense of faith in place, which was then broken or betrayed.
Vocabulary lists containing perfidy
The Declaration of Independence
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A Web of Lies
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Excerpt from "The Declaration of Independence"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Perfidy, lies, cruelty and bigotry are in most cases not offenses that can successfully be prosecuted in court.
From Salon • Jun. 25, 2021
Power and Perfidy Without stretching historical parallel too far, one can perceive in world events today certain startling resemblances to those times devoid of international order.
From Time Magazine Archive
Replied Bookbinder: "Perfidy is always possible, but we cannot live on the basis that an adversary may not live up to an agreement."
From Time Magazine Archive
Yet he persisted in his Perfidy and Ingratitude towards his best Friends, even till his last Moments, by alienating the King from a Mollak, whom he had often promised to recommend for his Successor.
From The Amours of Zeokinizul, King of the Kofirans Translated from the Arabic of the famous Traveller Krinelbol by Crébillon, Claude Prosper Jolyot de
I am far from desiring to lessen the laudable Spirit of Resentment in my Countrymen against those now at War with us, so far as it is justified by their Perfidy and Inhumanity.
From Benjamin Franklin Representative selections, with introduction, bibliograpy, and notes by Jorgenson, Chester E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
