Meanings
plural infidelities
- countableuncountableUnfaithfulness in a marriage or an intimate (sexual or romantic) relationship: practice or instance of having a sexual or romantic affair with someone other than one's spouse, without the consent of the spouse.
Your friends tell you rumors about your girlfriend's infidelity or you remember being broken up around the time the baby was conceived.
2013, William G. Staples, Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility, →ISBN, page 155Synonyms: Synonyms: adultery
- countableuncountableUnfaithfulness in some other moral obligation.
It was disastrous that England's infidelity towards Frederick the Great — which no one, not even a German, condemned more strongly than did William Pitt — had to affect one of the most popular heroes of our national history.
1937, Arnold Oskar Meyer, England in German opinion throughout the centuries, page 6Synonyms: betrayal
- archaiccountableuncountableLack of religious belief.
The Churchman remarked that such incidents arose from the growing infidelity, while the Freethinker saw in them a reversion to superstition.
1926, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist1 more example
The means used to this purpose are partly didactical, and partly protreptical; demonstrating the truth of the gospel, and then urging the professors of those truths to be stedfast^([sic]) in the faith, and to beware of infidelity.
1674, Seth Ward, Seven SermonsSynonyms: irreligion, faithlessness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounUnfaithfulness in a marriage or an intimate (sexual or romantic) relationship: practice or instance of having a sexual or romantic affair with someone other than one's spouse, without the consent of the spouse.
nounUnfaithfulness in some other moral obligation.
nounLack of religious belief.
antonym(s) of “moral”
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinīnfidēlitās
- Middle Frenchinfidelité
- Middle Englishinfidelite
- Englishinfidelity
From Middle English infidelite, from Middle French infidelité (modern French infidélité) and its etymon Latin īnfidēlitās. Equivalent to infidel + -ity.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic خِيَانَة, كُفْر
- خِيَانَة (ḵiyāna)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- كُفْر (kufr)lack of religious belief
- زَنْدَقَة (zandaqa)lack of religious belief
Bulgarian невя́рност
- невя́рност (nevjárnost)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Catalan infidelitat, infidelitat
- infidelitatunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- infidelitatlack of religious belief
Chinese Mandarin 異心 /异心, 不貞 /不贞
- 異心 /异心 (yìxīn)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- 不貞 /不贞 (bùzhēn)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Czech nevěra, nevíra
- nevěraunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- nevíralack of religious belief
Dutch ontrouw, areligieus
- ontrouwunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- areligieuslack of religious belief
Finnish uskottomuus, uskottomuus
- uskottomuusunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- uskottomuuslack of religious belief
French infidélité
- infidélitéunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
German Untreue
- Untreueunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Hungarian hűtlenség, hitetlenség
- hűtlenségunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- hitetlenséglack of religious belief
- pogányságlack of religious belief
Irish mídhílseacht, ainchreideamh
- mídhílseachtunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- ainchreideamhlack of religious belief
- éigreideamhlack of religious belief
Norwegian Bokmål utroskap
- utroskapunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Polish niewierność, niewiara
- niewiernośćunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- niewiaralack of religious belief
Portuguese infidelidade, infidelidade
- infidelidadeunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- infidelidadelack of religious belief
Romanian infidelitate
- infidelitateunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Russian неве́рность, безве́рие
- неве́рность (nevérnostʹ)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- безве́рие (bezvérije)lack of religious belief
- безбо́жие (bezbóžije)lack of religious belief
- неве́рие (nevérije)lack of religious belief
Scottish Gaelic adhaltranas, neo-chreidmheachd
- adhaltranasunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- neo-chreidmheachdlack of religious belief
Slovak nevera
- neveraunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Spanish infidelidad, infidelidad
- infidelidadunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- infidelidadlack of religious belief
Swedish otrohet
- otrohetunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Turkish ihanet, aldatma
- ihanetunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
- aldatmaunfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Ukrainian неві́рність
- неві́рність (nevírnistʹ)unfaithfulness in marriage or other moral obligation
Cite this entry
infidelity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infidelity
“infidelity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infidelity. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “infidelity,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infidelity.
Source: infidelity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.