perfidy

[ pur-fi-dee ]

See synonyms for perfidy on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural per·fi·dies.

deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.
an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

Origin of perfidy

1585–95; <Latin perfidia faithlessness, equivalent to perfid(us) faithless, literally, through (i.e., beyond the limits of) faith (per-per- + fid(ēs) faith + -us adj. suffix) + -ia-y³

synonym study For perfidy

See disloyalty.

Words Nearby perfidy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use perfidy in a sentence

Infamy—perfidy and surprise—and the compulsion to exact revenge for it shaped the narrative from the beginning.
America Learned the Wrong Lessons From Pearl Harbor—And the World Is Still Living With the Consequences | Elizabeth D. Samet | December 6, 2021 | Time
And there was a crash involved—in Ukrainian perfidy and EU sanctions both.
Up To a Point: Binge Watching Putin's Propaganda Network | P. J. O’Rourke | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Grace has been especially severe on the 12-person jury, which she has accused of all manner of perfidy.
Nancy Grace Has Feelings, Too | Lloyd Grove | July 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Does he expect to shame the Republicans at the upcoming summit by exposing their obstructionist perfidy to the American public?
Obama's Sham Bipartisan Show | Lee Siegel | February 8, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the state Louis was in, between man's perfidy and woman's wiles, any refuge from the world, seemed a heaven to him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter

Val's face turned red, for his perfidy rose up before him in its full extent of shame.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
She showed a consummate perfidy toward Diane de Poitiers, to which historians have not given due attention.
Catherine de' Medici | Honore de Balzac
I shall experience all the degradation of a slave, but I will also practise a slave's perfidy and trickery.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne Sue
They would not only refuse to give their assent to any such perfidy, but they would use their utmost endeavors to defeat it.
Adrift on the Pacific | Edward S. Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for perfidy

perfidy

/ (ˈpɜːfɪdɪ) /

nounplural -dies

a perfidious act

Origin of perfidy

C16: from Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per beyond + fidēs faith

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

Browse