faithful

1 of 2

adjective

faith·​ful ˈfāth-fəl How to pronounce faithful (audio)
1
: steadfast in affection or allegiance : loyal
a faithful friend
2
: firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty : conscientious
a faithful employee
3
: given with strong assurance : binding
a faithful promise
4
: true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original
a faithful copy
5
obsolete : full of faith
faithfully adverb
faithfulness noun

faithful

2 of 2

noun

1
plural in construction
a
: church members in full communion and good standing
used with the
b
: the body of believers in Islam
used with the
2
plural faithful or faithfuls : one who is faithful
especially : a loyal follower, member, or fan
party faithfuls
Choose the Right Synonym for faithful

faithful, loyal, constant, staunch, steadfast, resolute mean firm in adherence to whatever one owes allegiance.

faithful implies unswerving adherence to a person or thing or to the oath or promise by which a tie was contracted.

faithful to her promise

loyal implies a firm resistance to any temptation to desert or betray.

remained loyal to the czar

constant stresses continuing firmness of emotional attachment without necessarily implying strict obedience to promises or vows.

constant friends

staunch suggests fortitude and resolution in adherence and imperviousness to influences that would weaken it.

a staunch defender of free speech

steadfast implies a steady and unwavering course in love, allegiance, or conviction.

steadfast in their support

resolute implies firm determination to adhere to a cause or purpose.

a resolute ally

Examples of faithful in a Sentence

Adjective She has provided the company with many years of faithful service. He insists that he has always been faithful to his wife.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Production designer Adam Reamer’s faithful rendition of Catholic interiors — wood paneling, candle lights and crosses adorning each wall — is chilling enough, and Francesca Maria Brunori’s costumes create a haunting uniformity among the nuns. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024 Too tuneful and idiosyncratic to compete with the grime of grunge, World Party evolved into a cult act, maintaining a faithful audience but rarely crossing over into the mainstream. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Perry also remained a faithful advocate for Fight Colorectal Cancer, an organization whose work encouraged Perry to undergo a colonoscopy in 2015 that revealed precancerous cells. Aili Nahas, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Thus far, Villeneuve has been exceedingly faithful to his source material (his approach to Dune’s adaption was about finding character and story essentials and cutting out the rest, rather than making significant changes). James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 For the past two years, Marty Kaczmarek has been a faithful viewer. Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Lynch’s is arguably more faithful to the word, despite ignoring the author’s central theme of distrusting charismatic leaders. Max Evry, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 But Perry’s legacy as an accomplished costar, faithful friend and loving father will long be remembered. Aili Nahas, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Bob Iger, his management team, and the Board of Directors are faithful to this magic. Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
Naturally, Panthers fans have questions about free agency, and that’s why The Charlotte Observer is bringing back the Panthers mailbag to answer some of the big offseason questions asked by the Carolina faithful. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 6 Mar. 2024 His actions on the court this season were not something the UCLA faithful can be proud of. Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024 And while the Baltimore faithful hoped to use that surprising season as a launching pad to even greater heights, the current owners elected not to make any major moves this winter (the addition of Craig Kimbrel notwithstanding). Dan Freedman, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 Averno led his match throughout but got turned by Haughey and was pinned, leading to an eruption from the Gilman faithful. Mike Frainie, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2024 The dream scenario that the Kansas City Chiefs faithful, Taylor Swift fans, Disney advertising execs and the social mediasphere all hope comes true on Super Bowl Sunday goes something like this. Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register, 7 Feb. 2024 Ash Wednesday is also a day of obligatory fasting for the Catholic faithful. The Enquirer, 5 Jan. 2024 For 105 minutes, the French faithful had serenaded Pouille and met his every winner with rousing roars. Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 June 2023 Sunday’s defeat wasn’t just painful because of the heart-piercing finish, but also because more than 300 of the Comets faithful made the trip to St. Charles. Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'faithful.' 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

Adjective

Middle English feithful, from feith faith entry 1 + -ful -ful entry 1

Noun

derivative of faithful entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of faithful was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near faithful

Cite this Entry

“Faithful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faithful. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

faithful

1 of 2 adjective
faith·​ful ˈfāth-fəl How to pronounce faithful (audio)
1
: loyal sense 1b
a faithful friend
2
: firm in keeping promises or in fulfilling duties
a faithful worker
3
: true to the facts : accurate
faithful copy
faithfully adverb
faithfulness noun

faithful

2 of 2 noun
plural faithful or faithfuls
: one that has faith or is faithful

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