perfidy
Americannoun
plural
perfidies-
deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery.
perfidy that goes unpunished.
-
an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.
noun
Related Words
See disloyalty.
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
Well may you be surprised and feel for the indelicate situation which your Perfidy has forced me into.
From School for Scandal by Sheridan, Richard Brinsley
But all his Promises of Friendship, proved Instances of the highest Perfidy, and he turn’d out the worst and most unnatural of Husbands.
From The Female Soldier Or, the Surprising Life and Adventures of Hannah Snell by Anonymous
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.
