disloyalty
Americannoun
plural
disloyalties-
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.
"It's too bad, sort of disloyalty," Trump said.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
Some analysts say Xi’s latest crackdown on corruption and disloyalty in the armed forces marks the most aggressive dismantling of China’s military leadership since the Mao Zedong era.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026
There are no signs of significant dissent or disloyalty in the Revolutionary Guard, which was created to safeguard the regime in the first place.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026
Keith Ellison had to defend using Thomas Jefferson’s Quran at his 2007 swearing-in, amid baseless claims of Muslim disloyalty.
From Slate • Oct. 29, 2025
Again she felt the trickle of disloyalty and guilt, which seemed to be the order of the day, and reacted to it by reaching over to cover Lane’s hand with her own.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
