Faithlessly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner showing no loyalty or unfaithfulness to a person or commitment
2. Acting without fidelity, betraying trust or obligations
3. Done disloyally or treacherously, failing to maintain allegiance or promise

Etymology: "Faithlessly" is a plain formation: the adjective "faithless" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" attached. "Faithless" itself is built from "faith" and the suffix "-less", meaning "without", so the whole word literally describes acting in a way that lacks faith or loyalty. The suffix has a long ancestry. Its distant source is an Indo-European root meaning "body" or "form", which passed into Proto-Germanic as a word for "body" or "appearance" and was combined into an adjective-forming element meaning "having the form or likeness of". Over the centuries, Old English "-līċe" carried the sense of "in the manner of", and it wore down through Middle English "-ly" into the modern form. Because the suffix is so productive, English speakers can attach it to almost any adjective ending in "-less" or "-ful" to create an adverb of manner, which is why "faithlessly" sits comfortably alongside many similar words.

Synonyms: disloyally, unfaithfully

Antonyms: faithfully, loyally