Synonym Chooser

How is the word fidelity distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of fidelity are allegiance, devotion, fealty, loyalty, and piety. While all these words 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.

marital fidelity

Where would allegiance be a reasonable alternative to fidelity?

The words allegiance and fidelity are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, allegiance suggests an adherence like that of citizens to their country.

pledging allegiance

When would devotion be a good substitute for fidelity?

While the synonyms devotion and fidelity are close in meaning, devotion stresses zeal and service amounting to self-dedication.

a painter's devotion to her art

When can fealty be used instead of fidelity?

The meanings of fealty and fidelity largely overlap; however, fealty implies a fidelity acknowledged by the individual and as compelling as a sworn vow.

fealty to the truth

When might loyalty be a better fit than fidelity?

The words loyalty and fidelity can be used in similar contexts, but loyalty implies a faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray.

valued the loyalty of his friends

When could piety be used to replace fidelity?

The synonyms piety and fidelity are sometimes interchangeable, but piety stresses fidelity to obligations regarded as natural and fundamental.

filial piety

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 fidelity Mozart’s comedy about the perils of attraction, fidelity and compatibility opens Opera San José’s 42nd season. Jake Richardson, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2025 My own experience has taught me that fidelity, forgiveness, and faithfulness within families yield deep, enduring peace. Russell M. Nelson, Time, 5 Sep. 2025 To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child. Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025 What gets represented in the model, and to what level of fidelity? John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fidelity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fidelity
Noun
  • The emotional record, shared alongside a video and lyrics posted to Instagram, hears Thugger addressing infidelity, loyalty, fractured friendships, while taking full accountability for his mistakes.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • All Vera Wang Bride purchases will qualify for David’s Diamond Loyalty Program, the industry’s first and only bridal loyalty rewards program.
    Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • And possibly sharks and God and the pledge of allegiance too.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
  • But Harbaugh and the Wolverines did not waver in their commitment, and the result of their allegiance will live on forever.
    Alec Lewis, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Traditional approaches focus on financial engineering such as negotiating discounts for long-term commitments, or on observability tools that track who is running what.
    Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Microsoft has subsequently also offered to make further commitments to resolve its competition concerns after the European Commission market-tested the firm's initial pledges.
    Ryan Browne, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The promise of career gains through extreme dedication is often misleading, while the personal costs are undeniable.
    Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Advertisement This granular knowledge and deep curiosity is also what drives Speer’s long-standing dedication to protecting the vast, vulnerable open ocean and deep-sea environments that lie outside of national borders and hold some of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on earth.
    Bonnie Tsui, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • During Saturday night’s show, Gillis kept celebrating his Irish devotion.
    Pete Sampson, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The Ganges has been a center of trade and devotion for centuries, the Brahmaputra feeds tea estates and wildlife-rich floodplains, and Kerala’s canals knit together fishing towns and rice paddies.
    Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fidelity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fidelity. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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