# faithful

/ˈfeɪθfəɫ/ (US) · /fˈeɪθfəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/faithful
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. loyal

adjective · CEFR B2

staying loyal to a person, a group, or a set of beliefs over a long time.

For teachers: adhering firmly and devotedly to a person, cause, or idea.

- He remained a faithful friend even during the most difficult years of her life.
- Despite the political upheaval, the general remained faithful to the constitution, refusing to support the attempted coup.

### 2. monogamous

adjective · CEFR B2

having a sexual relationship with only one person, such as a husband or wife.

For teachers: remaining sexually loyal to a single spouse or long-term partner.

- They promised to be faithful to each other when they got married.
- The study examined the social factors that encourage couples to remain faithful throughout decades of marriage.

### 3. accurate

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

exactly like the original thing or the truth.

For teachers: representing something with a high degree of accuracy or truth; consistent with reality.

- The film is a faithful version of the famous book.
- The architect insisted on a faithful restoration of the cathedral, using only materials that were available in the twelfth century.

### 4. mathematics

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

a technical way to describe certain types of mathematical relationships.

For teachers: describing a representation or functor that is injective, or a module whose annihilator is zero.

- The professor explained why this specific representation is considered faithful.
- In category theory, a faithful functor is one that is injective on morphisms for every pair of objects in the source category.

### 5. the believers

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the people who follow a religion or a specific cause.

For teachers: the collective body of practicing members of a religion or devoted followers of a movement.

- The priest spoke to the faithful during the morning service.
- The party leader gathered the faithful for a final rally on the eve of the national election.

Usage: Usually used as 'the faithful' to refer to a group of people.

## Examples

- He remained faithful to his wife for fifty years.
- The film director wanted to create a faithful adaptation of the novel without changing the ending.
- Despite the political pressure to conform, she remained faithful to her principles, refusing to sign the document that would compromise her integrity.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.