US /ˈfeɪθləs/ UK /ˈfeɪθləs/
adj Freq #29561

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    disloyal, unreliable, or unworthy of trust

    The ruler surrounded himself with faithless advisers who deserted him in the crisis.

  2. 2
    adj

    sexually unfaithful to a spouse or partner

    The play centers on a faithless husband and the consequences of his deception.

  3. 3
    adj

    lacking religious faith or belief

    The preacher condemned the age as faithless, though many listeners disagreed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · disloyal, unreliable, or... disloyaltreacherousuntrustworthyperfidious
2 adj · sexually unfaithful to a... unfaithfuladulterous
3 adj · lacking religious faith or... unbelievingirreligious
Word family
Derived forms faithlesslyfaithlessness
Related forms faithinfidelitybetrayal

Etymology

From Middle English feithles, formed from faith + -less. The suffix means "without" or "lacking," so the word developed both the religious sense "without faith" and the social sense "not keeping faith with another person."

Topics

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