loyalty

[loi-uhl-tee]

noun

plural

loyalties 

1. the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.

2. faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc.

   Synonyms: constancy, devotion, fealty

3. an example or instance of faithfulness, adherence, or the like.

   a man with fierce loyalties.

loyalty

/ ˈlɔɪəltɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being loyal

2. (often plural) a feeling of allegiance

Other Word Forms

• nonloyalty noun
• overloyalty noun
• unloyalty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of loyalty¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English loialte, from Middle French. See loyal, -ty ²

Synonym Study

Loyalty, allegiance, fidelity all imply a sense of duty or of devoted attachment to something or someone. Loyalty connotes sentiment and the feeling of devotion that one holds for one's country, creed, family, friends, etc. Allegiance applies particularly to a citizen's duty to their country, or, by extension, one's obligation to support a party, cause, leader, etc. Fidelity implies unwavering devotion and allegiance to a person, principle, etc

Example Sentences

The fan base and its loyalty multiplied this season when “Summer” pivoted to weekly episode drops, creating a nail-biting frenzy over Belly’s entanglements and how her story will end.

From Los Angeles Times

"He had a heart as big as his smile, and his kindness, humour and loyalty touched everyone who was lucky enough to know him," the Hatton family said.

From BBC

Divorce shredded those illusions of superiority and stability, abandoning women to shoulder the weight of scandal regardless of their loyalty.

From Salon

Still, there’s no question that Sheinbaum has had to walk a tricky line: defining her presidency on her own terms while also demonstrating loyalty to the political movement that got her there.

From Los Angeles Times

He would be swept up in UC’s capitulation to the 1950s red scare in California, which culminated in the mandate that all faculty sign an anti-communist loyalty oath.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adherence 
• allegiance 
• devotion 
• faith 
• fealty 
• fidelity 
• honesty 
• honor 
• integrity 
• obedience 
• patriotism 
• reliability 
• sincerity 
• support 
• tie 
• trustworthiness