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unfaithful

unfaithful

41 4.0
Having sex with someone who is not your partner
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈfeɪθfəl/
  • NSFW
: infiel
  • Many people struggle with feelings of guilt when they are unfaithful in a relationship.
  • an unfaithful partner
  • an unfaithful husband
  • an unfaithful wife

I don't understand how people are unfaithful because the only thing that can quench lust is love.

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Examples

  • She felt devastated after learning that her boyfriend was unfaithful to her.

  • According to the men, unfaithful women destroy their husbands' honor.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Yeah, I had an unfaithful wife.

  • I was unfaithful last year.

  • I'm not being unfaithful to anyone.

  • Now, not all people who are unfaithful in a relationship are narcissistic.

  • Frida's husband was unfaithful to her, but she did not tolerate it.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I've never loved anyone else, and I've never been unfaithful to him.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • He discovered that his wife had been unfaithful during their marriage.

Synonyms

cheating
vsunfaithful
  • NSFW
39 3.5

Not faithful to a partner by having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone else

emphasizes the ongoing lack of commitment in a romantic relationship
disloyal
vsunfaithful
30 4.2

Not supporting or being faithful to people you should support

is limited to sexual or romantic lack of commitment within a partnership
adulterous
vsunfaithful
  • NSFW
13 7.4

Having a sexual relationship with someone who is not your husband, wife, or partner

is broader, covering lack of commitment in a romantic relationship beyond only sex
untrue
vsunfaithful
2 3.4

Not loyal to a person you trust

focuses on sexual or romantic lack of commitment rather than general untrustworthiness

Antonyms

466 1.0

Always supporting a person or group, especially in hard times

faithful
  • NSFW
66 2.1

Having sex only with your husband, wife, or partner

How Faithful

devoted
185 3.4
faithful
163 1.8
unfaithful
  • NSFW
41 4.0
cheating
  • NSFW
39 3.5

Surface Forms

unfaithful positive

Morphology

unfaithful = faithful (transparent) = un + faith + ful

Productive negation by 'un-' applied to 'faithful' yields 'not faithful' in the romantic/sexual sense; meaning is directly inferable.

Etymology

Unfaithful comes from un- 'not' plus faith 'trust' or 'loyalty', the same idea behind faithful. So in a relationship, unfaithful means not staying loyal, for example having a sexual relationship outside the partnership.