loyal
[loi-uh l]
- faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state: a loyal subject.
- 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.
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Origin of loyal
Synonyms
See more synonyms for loyal on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
1. faithless, treacherous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for unloyal
Historical Examples
They repeatedly referred to the fact that God could cast them off if they were unloyal to him.
loyal
- having or showing continuing allegiance
- faithful to one's country, government, etc
- of or expressing loyalty
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French loial, leial, from Latin lēgālis legal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for unloyal
loyal
adj.
1530s, in reference to subjects of sovereigns or governments, from Middle French loyal, from Old French loial, leal "of good quality; faithful; honorable; law-abiding; legitimate, born in wedlock," from Latin legalem, from lex "law." In most cases it has displaced Middle English leal, which is from the same French source. Sense development in English is feudal, via notion of "faithful in carrying out legal obligations." In a general sense (of dogs, lovers, etc.), from c.1600. As a noun meaning "those who are loyal" from 1530s (originally often in plural).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper