名词allegiance指的是忠诚，也就是效忠（fidelity）的义务，是公民对他们的国家或君主负有的义务，也是对于其公民美德所带来的好处和特权的回报。Allegiance现在广泛被用于指代任何类似个人感受到的对于某种道义或某个领袖的义务。【in the declaration of independence,the colonists renounced their allegiance to the british crown; a lasting allegiance to democratic party.】fealty被专门用于形容奴仆对于封建领主的义务。fealty的誓言既表示allegiance,又表示fidelity的意思.
fidelity 是指一种强烈的和忠诚的献身精神：his fidelity to the principles of justice never wavered.比起fidelity, loyalty更多的与人际关系有关。fidelity暗示有依附的意味，而loyalty 指的是奉献。它强调极度的个人献身。【her judgement was frequently faulty,but her loyalty to the nation could not be questioned; company loyalty made him turn down many attractive job offers.】
反义词：disaffection（不忠，不满）, disloyalty, rebellion（造反，叛乱）, sedition（煽动叛乱）,treachery（背叛，变节）, treason（叛国）.
翻译自《choose the right word》
