Definition of faithlessnext

Synonym Chooser

How is the word faithless different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of faithless are disloyal, false, perfidious, traitorous, and treacherous. While all these words 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

When can disloyal be used instead of faithless?

The synonyms disloyal and faithless are sometimes interchangeable, but disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When could false be used to replace faithless?

In some situations, the words false and faithless are roughly equivalent. However, false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

How do perfidious and faithless relate to one another?

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

a perfidious double-crosser

When is traitorous a more appropriate choice than faithless?

While the synonyms traitorous and faithless are close in meaning, traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

When might treacherous be a better fit than faithless?

The meanings of treacherous and faithless largely overlap; however, treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of faithless Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro are both quite good as part of a team that’s tasked with stealing a secret document, setting the stage for a drama involving gangsters, faithless lovers, and white-collar crooks. Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025 Once lost, now found, Ms. Brady offered the closing prayer as the smell of meatloaf promised lunch for the faithful and faithless alike. Moriah Ratner, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024 Men are a structuring absence, as they are spoken of as faithless husbands, potential fiancés, feckless sons. John Bleasdale, Variety, 21 Nov. 2024 But, these faithless actors have never changed the outcome of an election. Solcyré Burga, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for faithless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faithless
Adjective
  • Russell fabricates a lie with the rest of the villains, and the heroes believe it, despite a warning from one traitorous tribemate.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
  • That video drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who deemed it traitorous.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 25 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Amid Monday’s service issues, many Bluesky feeds were filled with hundreds of posts that laid the blame on developers who were allegedly relying on unreliable AI tools to ship faulty code.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Its closure sparked mourning among users who saw it as a loss of reliable, unbiased information in an age of unreliable internet sources.
    Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Five of the cases involved hospice care facilities in several cities across Los Angeles County that submitted false claims to Medicare for patients who were not terminally ill and were not eligible for services, prosecutors said.
    Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
  • This means that precious time was likely lost at the beginning as police investigated a lead that was based on false assumptions.
    Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Moreover, quotas or preferences divorced from character and accomplishments are unfaithful to individual rights and responsibilities and a temptation to tribalism.
    Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Early images from filming showed outfits which were derided online as cheap-looking—and unfaithful to the late Bessette Kennedy’s real aesthetic.
    Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in small boats.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • On the Columbia River and its tributaries, the party had to dig out five new canoes and then paddle them through treacherous rapids.
    Craig Fehrman, The Conversation, 1 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Faithless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faithless. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on faithless

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster