faithfully

[feyth-fuh-lee]

adverb

1. in a strict or thorough way.

   This plan was faithfully carried out to the last detail.

2. remaining true to one’s promises, allegiance, affection, or beliefs; loyally.

   The old man lived as faithfully as he could, always trying to set an example for younger members of his church.

3. in a way that is reliable and can be trusted or believed.

   The plant will die back to the ground during a hard freeze; however, it faithfully returns in spring.

   In accepting taxpayer funds, the recipient agrees to faithfully account for all monies received from the county.

4. in a way that adheres to fact, a standard, or an original.

   The tribute band tries to faithfully reproduce the sound, style, arrangement, and instrumentation of the original artist’s recordings.

Other Word Forms

• overfaithfully adverb
• pseudofaithfully adverb
• quasi-faithfully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of faithfully¹

faithful ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

It took some effort to convince them there was a sizable market for a proxy-voting service that applied the bishops’ guidelines faithfully—but to both companies’ credit, they listened and agreed to work with us.

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Mango is “faithfully following the recommendations of good governance, which urge caution in view of the presumption of innocence that protects all individuals,” she said.

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“Although local officials have raised cries of a federal ‘occupation’ and ‘dictatorship,’ the Constitution places on the president the duty to ‘take care that the laws are faithfully executed.’

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“Frankenstein” is the director’s lifelong passion project: He doesn’t just want to make a “Frankenstein” but the “Frankenstein,” so he’s faithfully set his adaptation in the past.

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Only if the “reform program is faithfully carried out,” will there be a path to “Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

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Related Words

• conscientiously www.thesaurus.com