perfidy

[pur-fi-dee]

noun

plural

perfidies 

1. deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery.

   perfidy that goes unpunished.

2. an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

ˈperfidy

/ ˈpɜːfɪdɪ /

noun

1. a perfidious act

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfidy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfidy¹

C16: from Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per beyond + fidēs faith

Synonym Study

See disloyalty.

Example Sentences

Jack soon learns, in Robert Penn Warren’s saga of perfidy and corruption, that Gov. Stark is right.

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Vintage Trump, complete with all the props: The ranting about the Democrats’ supposed perfidies, the proclamation of a new Golden Age and the adoring families of the victims of violence perpetrated by undocumented migrants.

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The state prosecutors and attorney generals would supposedly be a heroic firewall and last line of defense against Donald Trump and his perfidy.

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Trump’s perfidy aside, no one has forgotten Trump’s campaign mantra that ‘illegals’ were stealing American jobs, murdering Americans and eating their pets.

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If Trump’s perfidy on the economy is galling, his lies about immigration are criminal.

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