Word: fidelity (noun)

Associations

Fidelity means faithfulness or loyalty, especially in relationships or to a promise, idea, or duty. It often refers to being true and reliable.

• In marriage, fidelity means being loyal to your partner and not cheating.
• In music or sound, fidelity means the accuracy of sound reproduction, like "high fidelity" speakers that play clear sound.
• In technology, fidelity can mean how closely a copy or reproduction matches the original, like "image fidelity" in photography.

A well-known synonym is "loyalty," but fidelity often has a stronger sense of exactness or faithfulness, especially in personal or technical contexts. Loyalty is more general and can apply to people, groups, or ideas.

Substitution

You can replace fidelity with:

• loyalty (focuses more on devotion or allegiance)
• faithfulness (similar meaning, often used in relationships)
• accuracy (when talking about sound or image fidelity)
• allegiance (more formal, often used in politics or groups)

Each word changes the meaning a little. For example, "loyalty" is about feelings or support, but "accuracy" is about correctness.

Deconstruction

The word "fidelity" comes from Latin "fidelitas," from "fidēlis" meaning "faithful," which comes from "fides" meaning "faith" or "trust." The suffix "-ity" turns an adjective ("faithful") into a noun, meaning the quality or state of being faithful.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a situation where showing fidelity is very important?
• How is fidelity in a friendship different from fidelity in technology, like in sound or images?
• Have you ever trusted someone because of their fidelity? How did it feel?