faithlesslyadv.

1581 A. Hall tr. Homer Iliad iv. 66 Thinke not that Ioue wil rue on these false Troyan freaks, Who thus vniust and faithlesly their oth and promise breaks [Fr. qui ont iniustement Ainsi faulsé leur promesse, & serment].

1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App. 218 Had we..not faithlessely betrayed, but sincerely discharged the severall trusts reposed in us.

1662 A. Brome Rump (new ed.) ii. 103 A brace of sage Aldermen act in the Play, Ireton and Titchburn who faithlesly may, The Londoners Counsells and Plottings betray.

1719 C. Cibber Ximena i. 6 Am I to doubt? What ev'n your Looks, your Words, Your faint Evasions faithlessly confess?

1799 W. Scott tr. J. W. von Goethe Goetz of Berlichingen i. 23 God grant our boy may turn brave as he grows up, and pull down that Weislingen, who has dealt so faithlessly with my husband!

1822 Drama June 28 A townsman of Stratford, who..faithlessly broke a contract.

1884 J. A. Jackman Via Crucis 97 Better far to die for truth Than faithlessly thy soul destroy.

1914 S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn xii. 147 His woman, Mrs. Wargle, faithlessly consorted with Foddle, the cat's-meat man.

1945 F. Holden tr. L. Lehmann More than Singing 71 Life has become an endless purposeless monotony since your beloved abandoned you so faithlessly.

1974 ‘M. Innes’ Mysterious Comm. iv. 42 The urbane character calling himself (no doubt faithlessly) Basil Arbuthnot.

2000 Jrnl. Law & Society 27 240 It has been said that prosecutions are conducted faithlessly, that prosecutors have remained passive in the face of aggressive defence tactics.