infidelity
Americannoun
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marital disloyalty; adultery.
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unfaithfulness; disloyalty.
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lack of religious faith, especially Christian faith.
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a breach of trust or a disloyal act; transgression.
noun
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lack of faith or constancy, esp sexual faithfulness
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lack of religious faith; disbelief
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an act or instance of disloyalty
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of infidelity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin infidēlitās; equivalent to infidel + -ity
Explanation
Someone guilty of infidelity is cheating on a spouse or romantic partner. A common cause of divorce and heartbreak is infidelity. Fidel means "faithful" or "loyal." Tack on the prefix in, which means "not," and you've got yourself infidelity — the act of being unfaithful. The word can also be used to refer to someone's religious beliefs. Run angrily through a church and claim that God doesn't exist, and your fellow churchgoers will think you lack faith, or that you are guilty of infidelity.
Vocabulary lists containing infidelity
George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
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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.
Deadly Infidelity Awakening from a monthlong coma, a woman has lost the last five years of memories of her husband and daughter.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2022
Mating in Captivity was published in 2006 ,and New York Times bestseller The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity has just come out in the US and the UK.
From The Guardian • Oct. 28, 2017
Infidelity used to be the leading cause of divorce among Muslims in Thailand's southern province of Pattani.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2017
Infidelity is not just about broken contracts; it is about broken hearts.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2016
I could not have said that 'Dr. Smith tried to convert Lincoln from Infidelity so late as 1858, and couldn't do it.'
From Abraham Lincoln: Was He A Christian? by Remsburg, John B.
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.
