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.

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loyal British  

/ ˈlɔɪəl /

adjective

1. having or showing continuing allegiance

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

3. of or expressing loyalty

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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

The mess has left one usually loyal minister to conclude: "I don't think anyone thinks he will actually still be PM in 2027."

From BBC

He could be loyal but unable to bring his colleagues along, as Jimmy Carter discovered with G. William Miller.

From The Wall Street Journal

"From what I understand, they are still speaking to them," he says, "and want to remain loyal to them."

From BBC

He has amassed a large and loyal following.

From BBC

When people asked for flavors like pomegranate or passion fruit, Swig gave it a shot, and customers stayed loyal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ardent
• devoted
• dutiful
• patriotic
• staunch
• steadfast
• true
• trustworthy