perfidy
/ˈpɝ.fɪ.di/noun
perfidy is spelled P-E-R-F-I-D-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 92,628th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, perfidy means “A state or act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of perfidy is perfidies.
How many letters and syllables are in perfidy?
| Letters | 7: P-E-R-F-I-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 92,628th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perfidy?
Perfidy appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 92,628th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce perfidy?
- UK /ˈpɜː.fɪ.di/
- US /ˈpɝ.fɪ.di/
Perfidy has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-perfidy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perfidy
- perfidies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perfidy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A state or act of violating faith or allegiance; violation of a promise or vow, or of trust.
- 2
An illegitimate act of deception, such as using symbols like the Red Cross or white flag in a false claim of surrender to gain proximity to an enemy for purposes of attack.
- 3
A state or act of deceit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perfidy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the act of violating faith or allegiance:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does perfidy come from?
From Middle French perfidie, from Latin perfidia from perfidus (“faithless, treacherous, false”), from fides (“faith”); related to, for example, English fidelity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).