faithful

adjective

1 she stayed faithful all her married life | his faithful assistant:

loyal, constant, true, devoted, true-blue, true-hearted, unswerving, unwavering, staunch, steadfast, dedicated, committed;

trusted, trusty, trustworthy, dependable, reliable, obedient, dutiful.

▷antonyms unfaithful.

2 a faithful copy of a famous painting:

accurate, precise, exact, errorless, error-free, unerring, without error, faultless, true, close, strict;

realistic, authentic, convincing;

informal on the button, on the mark, on the beam, on the nail;

British, informal spot on, bang on;

North American, informal on the money;

rare verisimilar.

▷antonyms inaccurate.

noun

(the faithful)

he read the sacred scriptures to the faithful:

believers, communicants;

adherents, followers, loyal followers, loyal members;

congregation, brethren, flock.

choose the right word

faithful, loyal, constant, true

All these words are used to describe an unwavering commitment to someone or something.

■ Someone who is faithful shows unchanging affection or support for a person or cause, often in the face of difficulty or some temptation to desert. It can refer to marital fidelity (he has been faithful to his wife for 42 years) or religious faith (faithful Jews were required to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year) and is used informally of inanimate objects regarded as absolutely reliable (he drove his faithful Toyota overland from Saudi Arabia).

■ Loyal typically refers to allegiance to a superior or employer (he proved to be a loyal subject of the king | a loyal workforce) or support for a business or other organization (we look forward to providing our loyal customers with a first-class service). A loyal friend will show unwavering support, particularly in standing by one in the face of criticism or hostility from others.

■ Constant is a rather literary term for unchanging and utterly reliable fidelity (they are constant and dependable, consistently dispensing happiness).

■ True has a rather archaic ring when used to convey fidelity (she is as true to me as the day is long), since the sense tends to merge with the sense ‘real’ (a true friend). It is also used in the phrase true to (true to his word, he schooled her in horsemanship).

faithful Oxford Dictionary of English