Both faithful and loyal are terms commonly used in relationships. Many people tend to use these words interchangeably due to their close similarities.
So, what is the main difference between loyal and faithful? Loyal refers to a personal affirmation and allegiance to a certain group of people or country while faithful refers adhering to sincerity to someone for a certain relation.
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Comparison Table (Faithful vs Loyal)
| Basic Terms | Faithful | Loyal |
| Meaning | Refers to sincerity to someone in a particular relation | Refers to the affirmation and allegiance toward a particular group of people or organization |
| Type | Sincere to something that is always right | Affirmation to something that is either right or wrong |
| Dependence | Does not depend on the experience of a person | Depends on the experience of a person |
| Purpose | Unconditional adherence and affirmation | Beneficial to associations and affiliations |
| Application | When depicting a long term immense level of support without any consent | When demonstrating someone’s support, stand, allegiance, and affiliations. |
| Origin | Middle East English word “fiethful” imply devotion and dependability | Old French word “leaute” which imply honesty and legitimacy |
| Example | A man is always faithful to the wife. No cheating among the spouses | When a person is loyal to political affiliation, country, or religion |
What Is Faithful?
When a person has trust and feeling towards another person then this is a sign of faithfulness. It is a clear indication that a person will never let you down but stay forever the same.
Faithful is a hypothetical term and it does not depend on someone’s experience. Trust tends to be immense and long-lasting.
What Is Loyal?
Loyal is when a person demonstrates allegiance, affiliation, stand, and beneficial support. There are always some benefits linked to showing loyalty to something.
The allegiance and affiliation can be to something that is either right or wrong. This type of association depends on someone’s personal experience.
Main Difference between Faithful and Loyal In Point Form
- Faithful refers to the sincerity of a person towards a particular relation whereas loyal refers to allegiance and affiliation towards a country, religion or a political leader
- Faithful deal with things that are always right whereas loyal deal with things that are either right or wrong
- Loyal depend on personal experience whereas faithful does not depend on personal experience
- Faithful is an unconditional affiliation and affirmation whereas loyal tend to be beneficiation to the association and affiliations
- Faithful is used to depict long term immense level of support without any consent whereas loyal is used to demonstrate support to someone.
- The faithful word originated from middle east English whereas loyal originate from an old French word
- A faithful example is when a spouse does not cheat against each other while the loyal example is when a person is loyal to a political affiliation
Frequently Asked Questions (Faithful vs Loyal)
- Is Faithful or Loyal Better?
Faithful. The term is suitable for describing a healthy relationship. It shows that both parties are committed to standing for each other and nothing can separate them.
- Does Loyal Mean Faithful?
No. But many people tend to use them interchangeably. Faithful means someone is devoted to a certain thing while loyal means someone is devoted to a certain thing due to requirements by the law.
- Can You Be Loyal But Not Faithful?
Yes. Couples can be staying in the relationship for the sake of the children. Loyalty is an act of expressing a feeling.
- Is It Possible To Be Too Loyal?
Yes. It is possible for a person to be too loyal to a certain person. The main aim is to retain a certain position at the place of work.
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Summary
Faithful and loyal are terms used to describe the behavior of a person’s feelings or actions. They are known to describe the reliability and trustworthiness.
An example is when a husband is faithful to a wife in a sexual relationship while a dog is quite loyal to the owner.
More Sources and References
- Faithful. Dictionary
- Faithfulness. Wikipedia