perfidy

[ pur-fi-dee ]

noun

, plural per·fi·dies.

1. deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery:

   perfidy that goes unpunished.

2. an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

ˈperfidy

/ ˈpɜːfɪdɪ /

noun

1. a perfidious act

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfidy¹

1585–95; < Latin perfidia faithlessness, equivalent to perfid ( us ) faithless, literally, through (i.e., beyond the limits of ) faith ( per- per- + fid ( ēs ) faith + -us adj. suffix) + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfidy¹

C16: from Latin perfidia, from perfidus faithless, from per beyond + fidēs faith

Synonym Study

See disloyalty.

Example Sentences

Nixon’s intent was as sinister as any perfidy he later committed in the Watergate scandal, and if Trump asked Netanyahu to reject peace for now in Gaza, he too has asserted personal power above all else, to an extent that’s appalling even by his standards.

From Slate

If Trump’s perfidy on the economy is galling, his lies about immigration are criminal.

From Salon

Trump has refused in recent interviews to commit to accepting the results in November; since the sore loser still doesn’t concede his 2020 defeat, his antidemocratic perfidy about 2024 doesn’t surprise.

From Los Angeles Times

To deflect from their own perfidy, and to offset the optics of nonstop chaos, dysfunction and extremism under Johnson’s helm, House Republicans have pivoted entirely from fixing the border to a full frontal assault on Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

From Salon

At that hearing, Blumenfeld said that he felt a “special obligation, which has limits, to cleaning up, if that is what is appropriate and necessary, the perfidy within the Bar if, indeed, there is such perfidy.”

From Los Angeles Times