disloyalty
Americannoun
-
the quality of being disloyal; lack of loyalty; unfaithfulness.
- Synonyms:
- subversion
-
violation of allegiance or duty, as to a government.
-
a disloyal act.
noun
Related Words
Disloyalty, perfidy, treachery, treason imply betrayal of trust. Disloyalty applies to any violation of loyalty, whether to a person, a cause, or one's country, and whether in thought or in deeds: to suspect disloyalty in a friend. Perfidy implies deliberate breaking of faith or of one's pledges and promises, on which others are relying: It is an act of perfidy to cheat innocent people. Treachery implies being secretly traitorous but seeming friendly and loyal: In treachery deceit is added to disloyalty. Treason is performing overt acts to help the enemies of one's country or government: Acting to aid a hostile power is treason.
Etymology
Origin of disloyalty
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French desloiaute, Old French desleaute, equivalent to desleal disloyal + -te -ty 2
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.
The brand disloyalty counterintuitively plays into Ulta, which aims to discover new brands.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Orbán's actions amounted to "a gross act of disloyalty", while European Council head António Costa described them as tantamount to "blackmail".
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
But the chief victim of the buildup of China’s military so far has been its own elite, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has purged a swath of top generals accused of corruption and disloyalty.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Viewers may be surprised to learn just how daring and successful a Patriot military leader Arnold was before his decision to switch sides made his name synonymous with disloyalty.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025
She felt fiercely that she had to make up for her father’s criminal disloyalty, if it had existed, whatever it might have been.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
