Compare stated loyalty with conduct
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
In a fictional project diary, a photographer recorded a teammate's professed commitment to giving everyone equal credit. She later discovered insincerity in his friendly assurances when a private draft showed that he had never intended to include the others' names. His deliberate abandonment of their agreement also demonstrated faithlessness to the team. The diary distinguished an openly stated position from the honesty of the statement and from the separate failure to remain true to a commitment on which colleagues had relied.
The word professed did not by itself prove deception; an openly claimed commitment could be sincere or insincere. Evidence of insincerity came from the mismatch between the teammate's expressed intention and the intention revealed in his own draft notes. Faithlessness concerned his failure to honor the loyalty and agreement expected in the collaboration. The photographer therefore explained which evidence supported each judgment, rather than treating every unmet promise as proof that the person had been dishonest from the beginning.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.