| devotion, | fealty, | loyalty, | obedience, | subjection. |
| faithfulness, | homage, |
Allegiance is the obligation of fidelity and obedience that an individual owes to his government or sovereign, in return for the protection he receives. The feudal uses of these words have mostly passed away with the state of society that gave them birth; but their origin still colors their present meaning. A patriotic American feels an enthusiastic loyalty to the republic; he takes, on occasion, an oath of allegiance to the government, but his loyalty will lead him to do more than mere allegiance could demand; he pays homage to God alone, as the only king and lord, or to those principles of right that are spiritually supreme; he acknowledges the duty of obedience to all rightful authority; he resents the idea of subjection. Fealty is becoming somewhat rare, except in elevated or poetic style. We prefer to speak of the faithfulness rather than the fealty of citizen, wife, or friend.
Antonyms:
| disaffection, | disloyalty, | rebellion, | sedition, | treason. |
Prepositions:
We honor the allegiance of the citizen to the government; the government has a right to allegiance from the citizen.