as in traitorous
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something
a perfidious campaign worker revealed the senator's strategy to his leading rival for the nomination
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in infidelity
lack of faithfulness especially to one's husband or wife
perfidiousness eventually led to the couple's divorce
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perfidious
Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
And in this new era of Sino-Western rivalry, the Olympics are also used by more nationalistic elements of the Chinese media as a way to portray China in a positive light against the perfidious Americans and Europeans.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2024
In what might sound to many Americans like a familiar tactic, Netanyahu cast his critics and not himself as a threat to the country’s security, and sought to position himself as a victim of perfidious judges and prosecutors.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2023
But writer Rob Engalla’s perfidious hand movements were their undoing.
—Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for perfidious
Adjective
Since then, Putin has sought instead to rally the public to the defense of a motherland besieged by the perfidious and cunning West.
—Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
And in this new era of Sino-Western rivalry, the Olympics are also used by more nationalistic elements of the Chinese media as a way to portray China in a positive light against the perfidious Americans and Europeans.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2024
In what might sound to many Americans like a familiar tactic, Netanyahu cast his critics and not himself as a threat to the country’s security, and sought to position himself as a victim of perfidious judges and prosecutors.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2023
But writer Rob Engalla’s perfidious hand movements were their undoing.
—Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for perfidious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perfidious
Adjective
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Michael Fassbender plays a British intelligence officer tasked with finding who leaked a top-secret software program and betrayed their country, and the list of five potentially traitorous suspects includes his own high-profile wife (Cate Blanchett).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
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Smith made out their former collaborators to be ungrateful and traitorous, and the kids weren't given the space to question her command.—
Zoey Lyttle,
People.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Honey is typically in the business of infidelity, taking cases involving suspicious spouses and their philandering partners.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
23 May 2025
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The entrepreneur and wellness coach addressed rumors of infidelity while responding directly to a fan’s accusation on Instagram.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Take off eye makeup and false lashes before sleep as well to keep the area clean and avoid irritating the delicate tissue around the eye, Lappin said.—
Kameryn Griesser,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
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Their accountant filed two false corporate tax returns, claiming one of the couple’s firms earned no money in 2015 and 2016.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
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In the court of public opinion, any credible allegation of drug use, adultery or moral misstep is typically perceived as career-ending.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
21 May 2025
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Mlotek’s title presumably comes from no-fault divorce laws, which did away with the idea that divorce required proof of wrongdoing, such as abuse or adultery.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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One professor challenged that reasoning, which Casas repeated during the panel on Wednesday, telling the police chief that for students with fragile immigration statuses, being detained by university police would feel like a betrayal.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
23 May 2025
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In the aftermath, Mahnaz will be forced to confront betrayal and loss, and to embark on a quest for justice.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Their perfidy is memorialized in the English language, though.—
Evan Osnos,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
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The prior month, Vice President JD Vance had lodged his own complaints about Europe’s alleged perfidy, threatening that the United States might withdraw its security guarantees from Europe if the EU continued to aggressively regulate U.S. tech companies.—
ANU BRADFORD,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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That's telling about the culture that was created in which questioning or stress-testing created suspicions of disloyalty.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
20 May 2025
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In April, the president fired the head of the NSA after the conspiracist Laura Loomer accused him of disloyalty; in early May, the administration announced plans to cut more than a thousand jobs at the CIA and other spy agencies.—
James Santel,
The Atlantic,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perfidious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfidious. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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