faithful definition

English

Alternative forms

• faithfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English feithful, equivalent to faith +‎ -ful.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfeɪθ.fəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

faithful (comparative faithfuler or more faithful, superlative faithfulest or most faithful)

1. Loyal; adhering firmly to person or cause.

   My dog is a very faithful dog: he doesn't like to be petted by anybody else.

2. Having faith.
   • 2009, Paul Lakeland, Church: Living Communion (page 162)

     The application of the old discipline, say the conservatives, would probably produce a smaller but more faithful Church.

3. Reliable; worthy of trust.

   My servant is very faithful.

4. Consistent with reality.

   I would consider that a very faithful reproduction.

5. Engaging in sexual relations only with one's spouse or long-term sexual partner.

   They had been faithful to each other all of their married life.

   • 1976, "Missouri Breakers"[1]

     She wanted to be free to explore casual affairs, but her man had to be faithful .

6. (mathematics) Injective in specific contexts, e.g. of representations in representation or functors in category theory.

Derived terms

• faithfully
• faithfulness

Translations

See also

• go to the wall for someone
• stand by
• true

Noun

faithful (plural faithfuls)

1. (in the plural) The practicing members of a religion or followers of a cause.

   The faithful pray five times a day.

   • 1984, Dune‎^[2] (Science Fiction), OCLC 1295459964, spoken by Paul Atreides, 2:11:25 from the start:

     We Fremen have a saying: God created Arrakis to train the faithful. One cannot go against the word of God.

2. Someone or something that is faithful or reliable.
   • 2009 September 30, Bruce DeMara, “Shaw's comedy gets teeth”, in Toronto Star‎^[3]:

     Earlier this year, as the recession put a damper on ticket sales, Maxwell said the easy route would have been to go for the tried-and-true old faithfuls.