allegiance

[ uh-lee-juhns ]

/ əˈli dʒəns /

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See synonyms for allegiance on Thesaurus.com

noun

the loyalty of a citizen to his or her government or of a subject to his or her sovereign.

loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the like.

OPPOSITES FOR allegiance

1 treason.

2 treachery.

See antonyms for allegiance on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of allegiance

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English aliegiaunce, equivalent to a- probably a-⁵ + liegeliege + -aunce-ance; compare Middle French ligeance

synonym study for allegiance

See loyalty.

OTHER WORDS FROM allegiance

non·al·le·giance, nouno·ver·al·le·giance, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use allegiance in a sentence

In a series of more than 20 tweets, Hatem admitted that he tried to get AQAP to switch allegiances from Zawahiri to Baghdadi.
Murder Vids Help ISIS Lure More Monsters|Thomas Joscelyn|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You have not been indoctrinated into unwanted-yet-inescapable tribal allegiances by your soccer-crazed countrymen.
Why Americans Should Love the World Cup|Sean Wilsey|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Disgust with Congress is universal, crossing party lines and political allegiances.
Rep. David Price Remembers When a Less Partisan Congress Actually Worked|Eleanor Clift|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mitra, Gol-Maryam and Parivash wear their political allegiances as lightly as their crushes.
This Week’s Hot Reads: October 28, 2013|Mythili Rao|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Of course, the ethnic allegiances generally remained fairly strong.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Live In: Kevin Baker’s New York|Allen Barra|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The loyalties and allegiances to-day are at best provisional loyalties and allegiances.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
It is a mass of dumb instincts and allegiances, the love of a certain quality of life, to be maintained manfully.
Soliloquies in England|George Santayana
Nor were there two allegiances due, one to the community here, another to that of Great Britain.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16)|Thomas Hart Benton
Mackenzie seems to be in two minds, pulled this way and that in response to two guiding notions and allegiances.
Prefaces to Four Seventeenth-Century Romances|Roger Boyle
It was only a band of politicians from the other side of St. George's Channel who disowned both the great allegiances.
Liberalism|L. T. Hobhouse

British Dictionary definitions for allegiance

allegiance

/ (əˈliːdʒəns) /

noun

loyalty, as of a subject to his sovereign or of a citizen to his country

(in feudal society) the obligations of a vassal to his liege lordSee also fealty, homage (def. 2)

Word Origin for allegiance

C14: from Old French ligeance, from lige liege

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

allegiance

OPPOSITES FOR allegiance

Origin of allegiance

synonym study for allegiance

OTHER WORDS FROM allegiance

Words related to allegiance

How to use allegiance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for allegiance

Word Origin for allegiance