infidelity
Americannoun
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infidelities
plural
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marital disloyalty; adultery.
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unfaithfulness; disloyalty.
-
lack of religious faith, especially Christian faith.
-
a breach of trust or a disloyal act; transgression.
noun
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lack of faith or constancy, esp sexual faithfulness
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lack of religious faith; disbelief
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an act or instance of disloyalty
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of infidelity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin infidēlitās; equivalent to infidel + -ity
Explanation
Someone guilty of infidelity is cheating on a spouse or romantic partner. A common cause of divorce and heartbreak is infidelity. Fidel means "faithful" or "loyal." Tack on the prefix in, which means "not," and you've got yourself infidelity — the act of being unfaithful. The word can also be used to refer to someone's religious beliefs. Run angrily through a church and claim that God doesn't exist, and your fellow churchgoers will think you lack faith, or that you are guilty of infidelity.
Vocabulary lists containing infidelity
George Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
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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.
See Examples For:
He described the film as "a comedy with romance, with intrigue, with infidelity, with all the ingredients that I always think are going to make a good story".
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Mulligan argued that evidence of infidelity was not evidence of murder and questioned why Flynn was being accused of tampering with evidence because his gun could not be found.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, is divorcing him on “biblical grounds,” accusing him of infidelity.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
I didn’t want to make a show about a marriage that was on the rocks because of infidelity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
This was no fine-spirited gesture to clear the record: He charged Lovering with infidelity, a ruinous accusation.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Melania Trump has in the past been sensitive to discussions of Trump’s infidelities.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
In middle age, Delery Anhalt has moved back to her hometown of New Orleans from Washington, D.C., after learning about her husband’s infidelities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Previously, Grohl was married to photographer Jennifer Leigh Youngblood for three years, divorcing in 1997 due to Grohl's infidelities.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2024
The NBA champion is on an apology tour with the Kardashian family in which he addresses and attempts to make amends for his past infidelities and the familial fallout that came from them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
Of course, Tía Fidelina, our uncle's wife, who is sweet and dedicated to La Virgen, "knows nothing" about Tío Orlando's infidelities.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
