loyalty
Americannoun
PLURAL
loyaltiesnoun
-
the state or quality of being loyal
-
(often plural) a feeling of allegiance
Related Words
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
Other Word Forms
- nonloyalty noun
- overloyalty noun
- unloyalty noun
Etymology
Origin of loyalty
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English loialte, from Middle French. See loyal, -ty 2
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 loyalty of USC’s fans, however, shouldn’t be mistaken for excitement.
From Los Angeles Times
But the fight is also creating two camps with different loyalties.
A relentlessly logical investigator must solve a mystery rooted in love and loyalty.
But Mr. Sullivan freshens the familiar with shrewd diversions and, above all, the phenomenon of a relentlessly logical investigator confronting a mystery rooted in love and loyalty.
“Like the proverbial frog that doesn’t feel the water becoming increasingly hotter, many North American brands are inching into more treacherous positions with their customers’ loyalty,” Forrester Principal Analyst Pete Jacques wrote in the report.
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.
