disloyal

adjective

dis·​loy·​al (ˌ)dis-ˈlȯi(-ə)l How to pronounce disloyal (audio)
: lacking in loyalty
also : showing an absence of allegiance, devotion, obligation, faith, or support
his disloyal refusal to help his friend
disloyally adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for disloyal

faithless, false, disloyal, traitorous, treacherous, perfidious mean untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance.

faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

Examples of disloyal in a Sentence

It would be disloyal to abandon them. we sensed that he was disloyal and would eventually turn on us
Recent Examples on the Web Holton said Haley, a former Trump ambassador to the United Nations, is disloyal in running against her former boss. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2024 Trump has repeatedly attacked Pence for being disloyal. Time, 11 Aug. 2023 Holton said Haley, a former Trump ambassador to the United Nations, is disloyal running against her former boss. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2024 Trump and his aides have blasted the governor as disloyal for running in the first place, mocked his eating habits and his personality and accused him of wearing high heels to increase his height. arkansasonline.com, 22 Jan. 2024 But in the final months of their administration, Trump turned on Pence, casting him as disloyal for refusing to go along with his unconstitutional effort to block President Joe Biden’s win. Jill Colvin, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2024 John Clark of Missouri, John Reid of Missouri and Henry Burnett of Kentucky were all deemed disloyal to the Union for engaging with the Confederacy during the war. Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 24 Nov. 2023 Portnoy and listeners alike called her greedy and disloyal. Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2023 Photos: Day 3 of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial 20 images Paxton’s defense team has sought to paint the former employees who turned to the FBI as disloyal employees who sought to topple their boss. Philip Jankowski, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disloyal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French desleial, desloial, from des- dis- + leal loyal

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disloyal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near disloyal

Cite this Entry

“Disloyal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disloyal. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

disloyal

adjective
dis·​loy·​al (ˈ)dis-ˈlȯi(-ə)l How to pronounce disloyal (audio)
: lacking in loyalty
disloyally adverb
disloyalty
-ˈlȯi(-ə)l-tē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on disloyal

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