faithful

[feyth-fuhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR faithful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker.

true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.

steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.

reliable, trusted, or believed.

adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate: a faithful account; a faithful copy.

Obsolete. full of faith; believing.

noun

the faithful,

the believers, especially members of a Christian church or adherents of Islam.
the body of loyal members of any party or group.

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 for faithful

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR faithful ON THESAURUS.COM

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. 2019

Related Words for faithfully

conscientiously, patiently, dependably, truly, devotedly, constantly, forever, regular

Examples from the Web for faithfully

Contemporary Examples of faithfully

What qualifies as vast enough, as comprehensive enough, as representative enough to faithfully render a city and its people?
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs
Sarah Moroz
December 14, 2014
Boehner announced Wednesday that he would sue the president for his failure to “faithfully execute the laws of this country.”
Boehner May Not Have the Ability to Sue Obama After All
Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak
June 26, 2014
Most bands these days aspire to reproduce their recordings on stage as faithfully as possible.
Is Jack White the Last True Rock Star?
Andrew Romano
June 13, 2014
In short, Mr. Obama feels no constraint in faithfully executing the laws as written by the Congress.
The ‘Defining Issue of Our Time’ Is Obama’s Constitutional Excesses
Ron Christie
January 9, 2014
And her denials and legal threats are faithfully modeled after the de rigueur motions of past sex-tape shock-feigning stars.
‘Teen Mom’ Farrah Abraham’s Rocky Path to Sex-Tape Stardom. Also, Sex Tapes Are Still a Thing?
Melissa Leon
April 11, 2013

Historical Examples of faithfully

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 Boy Life of Napoleon
Eugenie Foa
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.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro

British Dictionary definitions for faithfully

faithful

adjective

having faith; remaining true, constant, or loyal

maintaining sexual loyalty to one's lover or spouse

consistently reliablea faithful worker

reliable or truthfula faithful source

accurate in detaila faithful translation

noun

the faithful

the believers in and loyal adherents of a religious faith, esp Christianity
any group of loyal and steadfast followers

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.