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faithful

[feyth-fuh l]
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adjective
  1. strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker.
  2. true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
  3. steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.
  4. reliable, trusted, or believed.
  5. adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate: a faithful account; a faithful copy.
  6. Obsolete. full of faith; believing.
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noun
  1. the faithful,
    1. the believers, especially members of a Christian church or adherents of Islam.
    2. the body of loyal members of any party or group.
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Origin of faithful

First recorded in 1250–1300, faithful is from the Middle English word feithful. See faith, -ful
Related formsfaith·ful·ly, adverbfaith·ful·ness, nouno·ver·faith·ful, adjectiveo·ver·faith·ful·ly, adverbo·ver·faith·ful·ness, nounpseu·do·faith·ful, adjectivepseu·do·faith·ful·ly, adverbqua·si-faith·ful, adjectivequa·si-faith·ful·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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1, 3. true, devoted, staunch. 3. Faithful, constant, loyal imply qualities of stability, dependability, and devotion. Faithful implies long-continued and steadfast fidelity to whatever one is bound to by a pledge, duty, or obligation: a faithful friend. Constant suggests firmness and steadfastness in attachment: a constant affection. Loyal implies unswerving allegiance to a person, organization, cause, or idea: loyal to one's associates, one's country. 5. precise, exact.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for faithfully

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Such was the leader whom Mr. Gladstone had faithfully followed for many years.

    The Grand Old Man

    Richard B. Cook

  • He cared for it faithfully; but he wished to make it even more secluded.

  • The past, I have related as faithfully as I have been able so to do.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • His daily visits to you have all been faithfully reported to me.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • The sally is greeted with a laugh, which is also faithfully rendered.

British Dictionary definitions for faithfully

faithful

adjective
  1. having faith; remaining true, constant, or loyal
  2. maintaining sexual loyalty to one's lover or spouse
  3. consistently reliablea faithful worker
  4. reliable or truthfula faithful source
  5. accurate in detaila faithful translation
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noun
  1. the faithful
    1. the believers in and loyal adherents of a religious faith, esp Christianity
    2. any group of loyal and steadfast followers
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Derived Formsfaithfully, adverbfaithfulness, noun
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

Word Origin and History for faithfully

faithful

adj.

c.1300, "full of faith," also "firm in allegiance," from faith + -ful. Meaning "true to the facts" is from 1520s. The noun sense of "true believers" is from 1550s. Related: Faithfully; faithfulness. Old Faithful geyser named 1870 by explorer Gen. H.D. Washburn, Surveyor-General of the Montana Territory, in reference to the regularity of its outbursts.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper