faithfulness

[ feyth-fuhl-nis ]

noun

1. lasting loyalty and trustworthiness in relationships, especially marriage and friendship:

   A wedding ring is a symbol of unending love and faithfulness to each other.

   I remember the faithfulness of so many friends and family who sent me emails, visited me, and stood with me during my ordeal.

2. the fact or quality of being true to one’s word or commitments, as to what one has pledged to do, professes to believe, etc.:

   In the Bible, the psalmist David reports God's faithfulness in keeping promises.

3. the fact or quality of being dedicated and steadfast in performing one’s duty, working for a cause, etc.:

   We lawyers have an ethical obligation to represent our clients with diligence, faithfulness, and competence.

4. the quality of adhering to fact, a standard, or an original; accuracy:

   Professional translators often focus on the faithfulness of a translation to the original, with too little attention to the naturalness or comprehensibility of the translated version.

Other Words From

• o·ver·faith·ful·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of faithfulness¹

faithful ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

The series has done its fair share of Wikipedia educating, even when the on-screen tellings aren’t 100 percent faithful to reality.

From Washington Post

The most faithful imitator, painstakingly designed with feedback from Olympic marathoner Jared Ward and other elite runners, appears to be Saucony’s Endorphin Pro.

From Outside Online

Because Mediafax’s contents were copied and redistributed by the faithful, it had far more reach than its subscriber list suggested.

From Ozy

Christians can move forward to help heal our nation by seeking a balance of political engagement and faithful discipleship.

From Fortune

However they find each other, screech-owls usually stay together as long as they both live and, based on paternity tests of chicks, they are entirely faithful.

From Popular-Science

And this mix of intellectualism and faithfulness is filling an unmet need among students on many of these campuses.

From The Daily Beast

God does not want a house built by man,” he said, “but faithfulness to His word, to His plan.

From The Daily Beast

He goes to his death as a final act of faithfulness to the party for which he committed his own crimes.

From The Daily Beast

Martyrs, Daniel promised, would be rewarded for their faithfulness in a special way.

From The Daily Beast

Martyrs, he promised, would be rewarded for their faithfulness in a special way.

From The Daily Beast

On the establishment of the Empire Berthier, like many another, received the reward for his faithfulness to Napoleon.

From Project Gutenberg

Another Christian argument is the claim that the faithfulness of the Christian martyrs proves Christianity to be true.

From Project Gutenberg

Several other books were also published by him, reflecting great honor upon his integrity, candor and faithfulness.

From Project Gutenberg

Faithfulness on the part of such slaves was also frequently repaid by manumission.

From Project Gutenberg

In faithfulness ye served your God, and with her children shall your mother rejoice forever in the eternal world.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adherence
• allegiance
• fealty
• fidelity