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Synonyms

loyal

American  
[loi-uhl] / ˈlɔɪ əl /

adjective

  1. faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state.

    a loyal subject.

    Synonyms:
    patriotic
    Antonyms:
    treacherous, faithless, disloyal, treasonous, traitorous
  2. faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations.

    to be loyal to a vow.

    Synonyms:
    true, steadfast, staunch, devoted, constant
  3. faithful to any leader, party, or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity.

    a loyal friend.

  4. characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligations, etc..

    loyal conduct.


loyal British  
/ ˈlɔɪəl /

adjective

  1. having or showing continuing allegiance

  2. faithful to one's country, government, etc

  3. of or expressing loyalty

"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

Related Words

See faithful.

Other Word Forms

  • loyally adverb
  • loyalness noun
  • nonloyal adjective
  • nonloyally adverb
  • overloyal adjective
  • overloyally adverb
  • quasi-loyal adjective
  • quasi-loyally adverb
  • superloyal adjective
  • superloyally adverb
  • unloyal adjective
  • unloyally adverb

Etymology

Origin of loyal

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, Old French loial, lei(a)l, from Latin lēgālis legal

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.

The armed forces, whose top leadership has remained loyal to the regime through various uprisings over the years, has some 125,000 members.

From The Wall Street Journal

Vera Bradley, the maker of quilted bags and accessories, is changing strategy again following a rebrand that de-emphasized its signature florals and patterns—and left some of its loyal consumers fuming.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This opportunistic real estate transaction does not impact our day-to-day operations. We remain committed to serving our loyal Beverly Hills customers.”

From Los Angeles Times

At smaller banks, for example, boards and management teams are often made up of loyal community members.

From The Wall Street Journal

The rest may find that even loyal customers are becoming more selective about where—and how often—they spend on dining out.

From Barron's