faithful

/ˈfeɪθfəl/

/ˈfeɪθfəl/

Other forms: faithfuls

Faithful describes someone who is reliable and consistent. If you're a faithful volunteer at the animal shelter, you show up every Saturday and work hard to help the animals.

A faithful friend is loyal and steadfast — it's no wonder that many people consider their dogs to be their most faithful companions. Though faithful usually describes a person, you can also use it to talk about a particularly reliable object, like your faithful hiking boots. There's another sense of faithful that means "remaining true to," like faithful believers who pray and attend religious services regularly.

Definitions of faithful

1. adjective

   steadfast in affection or allegiance
   “years of faithful service”

   “faithful employees”

   “we do not doubt that England has a faithful patriot in the Lord Chancellor”

   synonyms:

   constant

   steadfast in purpose or devotion or affection

   fast, firm, loyal, truehearted

   unwavering in devotion to a friend or vow or cause

   true

   devoted (sometimes fanatically) to a cause or concept or truth

   true

   consistent with fact or reality; not false

   trustworthy, trusty

   worthy of trust or belief

   antonyms:

   unfaithful

   not true to duty or obligation or promises

   inconstant

   likely to change frequently often without apparent or cogent reason; variable

   apostate

   not faithful to religion or party or cause

   perfidious, punic, treacherous

   tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans

   untrue

   not true to an obligation or trust

   untrustworthy, untrusty

   not worthy of trust or belief
2. adjective

   marked by fidelity to an original
   “a faithful copy of the portrait”

   “a faithful rendering of the observed facts”

   synonyms: close

   accurate

   conforming exactly or almost exactly to fact or to a standard or performing with total accuracy
3. adjective

   not having sexual relations with anyone except your husband or wife, or your boyfriend or girlfriend
   “he remained faithful to his wife”

   synonyms:

   true to

   sexually faithful

   antonyms:

   unfaithful

   having sexual relations with someone other than your husband or wife, or your boyfriend or girlfriend

   adulterous, cheating, two-timing

   not faithful to a spouse or lover
4. noun

   any loyal and steadfast following
   type of:

   followers, following

   a group of followers or enthusiasts
5. noun

   a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church
   synonyms: congregation, fold

   types:

   flock

   a church congregation guided by a pastor

   type of:

   social group

   people sharing some social relation