allegiance

noun al·le·giance \ ə-ˈlē-jən(t)s \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: allegiance in a Sentence

Definition of allegiance

1 a : the obligation of a feudal vassal to his liege lord

b (1) : the fidelity owed by a subject or citizen to a sovereign or government

I pledge allegiance to my country.

(2) : the obligation of an alien to the government under which the alien resides

2 : devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause

allegiance to a political party

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allegiant

play \-jənt\ adjective

See allegiance defined for English-language learners

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Examples of allegiance in a Sentence

He owes allegiance to them for all the help they have given him.
Both candidates are working hard to convince voters to switch allegiances.

Recent Examples of allegiance from the Web

Throughout the film, artistic commitments undermine what should, in the eyes of many, be a mother’s primary allegiance.

— katherine fusco, The Atlantic, "Hereditary and the Monstrousness of Creative Moms," 11 July 2018
The new trade war could have negative consequences for agriculture in a farm state like North Dakota, driving down allegiance to Mr. Trump.

— carl hulse, New York Times, "‘It’s a Terrible Vote’: Red-State Democrats Face an Agonizing Supreme Court Choice," 7 July 2018
This time around, though, World Cup allegiance has been made simpler here by the United States team’s absence from the quadrennial soccer showpiece.

— henry gass, The Christian Science Monitor, "In border town, World Cup watchers balance team pride, anxiety about US," 29 June 2018
Sports allegiances aren’t passed down from parents, like the wooden spoon from your great-great-grandparents.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: 10 rules for fans to survive our dismal sports scene | Commentary," 23 June 2018
Saidi began writing the second part of the trilogy after a gunman claiming allegiance to ISIS besieged a kosher supermarket east of Paris in January 2015, killing five people.

— Time, "A Tale of Three Jihadists Puts the Fight Against Extremism Onstage," 14 June 2018
Faith Whittlesey, who was the highest-ranking woman on the Reagan White House staff during her time there and who helped lay the foundation for the religious right’s enduring allegiance to the Republican Party, died Monday at her home in Washington.

— sam roberts, BostonGlobe.com, "Faith Whittlesey, conservative voice and Reagan aide, dies at 79," 26 May 2018
An outlet’s political allegiance would largely determine the tone, selection, and placement of its stories — and, in many cases, the very facts of them.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Baby Breitbarts’ Might Be the Future of Local Newspapers," 1 May 2018
And while Trump’s predecessors have asked NATO members, including Germany, to show allegiance to the alliance by putting more money into their own defense, none of them have suggested the world and the U.S. might be better off without NATO.

— jonathan allen /, NBC News, "Trump's NATO trip: In like a lion, out like a lamb," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'allegiance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of allegiance

Middle English aligeaunce, from Anglo-French allegeance, alteration of ligeance, from lige liege

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

allegiance Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of allegiance

fidelity, allegiance, fealty, loyalty, devotion, piety mean faithfulness to something to which one is bound by pledge or duty. fidelity implies strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty.