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
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
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
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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.
Apple has an enormous base of loyal users and improved models of iPhone, Mac, and wearables in the pipeline that promise to bode well for its fortunes in the near future, Jeronimo reasoned.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
The chain's global reach relies on a strong brand, robust ecosystem, and loyal customer base, according to Zhou.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
With an average 8.4 million viewers in season 42, “Jeopardy!” has one of television’s biggest and most loyal audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Social media allowed Salgado to cultivate a loyal readership by sharing her poetry for free before even signing her first publishing contract for her book, “Corazón.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
For years, I was a loyal and trusted whatnot.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
