loyal
Americanadjective
-
faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state.
a loyal subject.
- Synonyms:
- patriotic
- Antonyms:
- treacherous, faithless, disloyal, treasonous, traitorous
-
faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations.
to be loyal to a vow.
-
faithful to any leader, party, or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity.
a loyal friend.
-
characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligations, etc..
loyal conduct.
adjective
-
having or showing continuing allegiance
-
faithful to one's country, government, etc
-
of or expressing loyalty
Synonym Usage
See faithful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of loyal
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, Old French loial, lei(a)l, from Latin lēgālis legal
Explanation
If you are faithful and devoted to someone or something, you're loyal. If you refuse to buy milk from anyone other than Farmer Jones, then you're a very loyal customer. Someone who is loyal is reliable and always true, like your trusty dog. Loyal comes from the Old French word loial which means something like "legal," but if someone is only loyal to you because the law requires him to be, that's not true loyalty, which should come from the heart, not a contract. A loyal friend supports you all the time, no matter what. You can also be loyal to an idea, like the People's Revolution, or girl-power.
Vocabulary lists containing loyal
Dog Vocabulary: A Canine Lexicon
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Words to Describe a Friend
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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.
Related: ‘You smart, you loyal’: how rap culture embraced the meme When it comes to break-the-internet emoji popularity, however, Kim Kardashian remains cash queen.
From The Guardian • Mar. 3, 2016
They use the words 'loyal' or 'not loyal' to the monarchy as a tool to fight for power.
From Time Magazine Archive
Three years later, Diem had the project terminated because, said Smuckler, he "felt the people in it were not 'sufficiently loyal' to him"�that is, they had published critical articles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nobody in the whole world could have said that 'I will be loyal' quite like that—nobody but Arthur.
From The Return by De la Mare, Walter
Definitions 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.
