Allegiance Meaning
/əˈliː.d͡ʒəns/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA loyalty to some cause, nation or ruler.
nounLoyalty or commitment to a cause, group, nation or of a subordinate to a superior.
Sentence Examples
The knight swore an oath of allegiance to the king.
Pledge allegiance to the national flag.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Soldiers swear an oath of ____ to defend their country against enemies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The soldiers swore an oath of ____ to their country's flag.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English alegiaunce, from Anglo-Norman alegaunce (“loyalty of a liege-servant to one's lord”), variant of Old French ligeance, from lige (“vassal, liegeman”). More at liege.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"With what a feeling of joyful security did her heart go back to its old allegiance! Till now she had scarcely been aware of its strength, for she had known it but by its disappointment—now she fully admitted that early and passionate emotion with which Robert Evelyn had inspired her was indeed her destiny;..."
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 83:
"It was always going to be a hot occasion for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, the one-time Ireland internationals who subsequently switched their allegiances."
— 2024 September 7, David Hytner, “Rice and Grealish start new England era with Nations League victory in Ireland”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Soldiers swear an oath of ____ to defend their country against enemies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The soldiers swore an oath of ____ to their country's flag.