Dictionary

betray en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /bəˈtɹeɪ/
• /bɪˈtɹeɪ/

Etymology

From Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). Middle English bi- is from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). Compare also traitor, treason, tradition. The modern sense “to disclose, discover, reveal unintentionally” is due to influence from or merger with English bewray (“to reveal, divulge”), which is similar in sound and meaning. The similarity with German betrügen, Dutch bedriegen, from Proto-West Germanic *bidreugan (“to betray, deceive”), is coincidental.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.
   • An officer betrayed the city.
   • He betrayed his own sister to the secret police.
2. (transitive) To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive.
   • to betray a person or a cause
   • My eyes have been betraying me since I turned sixty.
   • I maruell I heare no nevves of Dromio, either hee ſlackes the matter, or betrayes his maiſter, I dare not motion anie thing to Stellio, till I knovve vvhat my boy hath don; Ile hunt him out, if the loiterſacke be gone ſpringing into a tauerne, Ile fetch him reeling out. c. 1590 (date written), [John Lyly], Mother Bombie. […], London: […] Thomas Scarlet for Cuthbert Burby, published 1594, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, signature C3, verso:
   • Quresh betrayed Sunil to marry Nuzhat.
3. (transitive) To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
4. (transitive) To disclose (a secret, etc.) in deliberate violation of someone’s confidence.
   • The dead leap at the throat, destroy The meaning of the day; dark forms Have scaled your walls, and spies betray Old secrets to amorphous swarms. 1941, Theodore Roethke, “Feud”, in Open House, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC; republished in The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, London: Faber and Faber […], 1968, →OCLC, page 4:
5. (transitive) To disclose or indicate, for example something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
   • Though he had lived in England for many years, a faint accent betrayed his Swedish origin.
   • Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast [Josh] Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core. 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The A.V. Club:
   • Again, to take a less extreme example, there is no denying that although the dialects of northern France retained their fundamentally Romance character, they betray many Germanic influences in phonetics and vocabulary, […] 1966, Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch, French rural history:
6. (transitive) To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen; to lead into error or sin.
7. (transitive) To lead astray; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.

Forms

Antonyms

keep faith

Deriveds

betrayal · unbetray · betrayment · betray with a kiss · betrayable · rebetray · betrayee · betrayer

Hyponyms

turn one's coat · perjure · leak · manswear · apostatize · misswear · forswear · break a promise · break one's word · falsify · kiss and tell · backdoor · give away · break one's promise · collaborate · defect · rat out · jilt · eat one's young

Relateds

deceive · betrayer · throw to the wolves · throw under the bus

Synonyms

swike · quisle · cross up · false · do the dirty on · double-cross · quisle · cop out · sell down the river · traitorize · sell · stab in the back · sell the pass · do someone dirty · let down · sell down · assfuck · traitorize · sell out · cross out · play someone false · betray · burn · go back on · give away · turncoat · renegade · give away · knife · sell

Translations (254)

la prōdō (to disclose or discover) · fro traïr (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · nb forråde (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 泄露秘密 (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · he בָּגַד (to prove faithless or treacherous) · la dēcipiō (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · pt trair (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fi pettää (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · sl izdati (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ko 배반하다 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · pt revelar (to disclose or discover) · de verleiten (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · it consegnare (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cs zradit (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ml കബളിപ്പിക്കുക (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · ky чыккынчылык кылуу (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · id mengkhianati (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · la mōnstrō dēmōnstrō (to show or to indicate) · ru преда́ть (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · th ทรยศ (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fr trahir (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · hy դավաճանել (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · es engañar (to lead astray, as a maiden) · da røbe (to disclose or discover) · fr trahir (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · la prōdō (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · el προδίδω (to prove faithless or treacherous) · la prōdō (to prove faithless or treacherous) · vi bội phản (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · uz xiyonat qilmoq (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ml ചതിക്കുക (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ca demostrar (to show or to indicate) · it rivelare (to show or to indicate) · es confundir (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · de sitzenlassen (to lead astray, as a maiden) · nl verraden (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ro a induce în eroare (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · fi pettää (to lead astray, as a maiden) · ca trair (to prove faithless or treacherous) · eu saldu (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ro a îndruma greșit (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · sv bedra (to lead astray, as a maiden) · da forråde (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · mn урвах (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · th ทรยศ (to prove faithless or treacherous) · nl verraden (to disclose or discover) · fi pettää (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ml ഒറ്റുക (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · da svige (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ja 裏切る (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fi kavaltaa (to disclose or discover) · de von etwas zeugen (to show or to indicate) · gl traizoar (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · de verraten (to disclose or discover) · lo ຫັກຫລັງ (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ro trăda (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · it rivelare (to disclose or discover) · izh pettää (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · sl izdati (to prove faithless or treacherous) · es demostrar (to disclose or discover) · he בָּגַד (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · cy bradu (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · pl wydać (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fi kavaltaa (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ru предава́ть (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · th หักหลัง (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · pl zdradzić (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ru выдава́ть (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · pdt veroden (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · uk зра́джувати (to prove faithless or treacherous) · hu elárul (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · got 𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (to prove faithless or treacherous) · uk зра́дити (to prove faithless or treacherous) · cmn 叛賣 /叛卖 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru выдава́ть (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · osp dar traçión (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh pronaći (to disclose or discover) · nrf trahi (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sh ìzdati (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ru преда́ть (to prove faithless or treacherous) · mi kaikaiwaiū (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · tr ihanet etmek (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · fr trahir (to prove faithless or treacherous) · hu elárul (to disclose or discover) · bn বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা করা (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru вы́дать (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · fa لو دادن (to disclose or discover) · ca delatar (to disclose or discover) · tr ihanet etmek (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ru преда́ть (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · bg измамвам (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ms khianat (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fro traïr (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · sv svika (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · bg издавам (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · sv svika (to prove faithless or treacherous) · nl verraden (to show or to indicate) · ru выдава́ть (to disclose or discover) · fi paljastaa (to show or to indicate) · hu elárul (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · es traicionar (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · vi phản bội (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ms mengkhianati (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · nl onthullen (to disclose or discover) · cmn 誤導 /误导 (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · sk zradiť (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · km ក្បត់ (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · mk предава (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · es mostrar (to show or to indicate) · de vom rechten Weg abbringen (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · de verraten (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ru выдава́ть (to show or to indicate) · cmn 違反信任 /违反信任 (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · izh pettää (to prove faithless or treacherous) · tr ihanet etmek (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru вы́дать (to show or to indicate) · tk dönüklik etmek (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru предава́ть (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ca trair (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh ѝздати (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ko 배신하다 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru вы́дать (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · gl traizoar (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · da forråde (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ml വഞ്ചിക്കുക (to lead astray, as a maiden) · sh ìzdati (to disclose or discover) · ks دونٛکھہٕ دُیٛن (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · osp traer (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 背叛 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ro descoperi (to disclose or discover) · ar خانَ (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sv förråda (to prove faithless or treacherous) · cy bradu (to prove faithless or treacherous) · cmn 泄露 (to show or to indicate) · fi vietellä (to lead astray, as a maiden) · ca trair (to lead astray, as a maiden) · de im Stich lassen (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sl izdati (to disclose or discover) · it tradire (to lead astray, as a maiden) · nrf trahi (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru предава́ть (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · arz خان (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · nl bedriegen (to lead astray, as a maiden) · da forråde (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · az xəyanət etmək (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · pt trair (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · fi pettää (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · de irreführen (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · sq pre ne bes (to prove faithless or treacherous) · pt trair (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sv svika (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ang lǣwan (to prove faithless or treacherous) · tr ele vermek (to disclose or discover) · es traicionar (to prove faithless or treacherous) · pl zdradzić (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh odati (to disclose or discover) · bg изневерявам (to prove faithless or treacherous) · kk сатып кету (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · el προδίδω (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · th หักหลัง (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sv förråda (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · fi vietellä (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · ja 漏らす (to show or to indicate) · uk зра́дити (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · kk ұстап беру (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ja 売る (to prove faithless or treacherous) · de verraten (to show or to indicate) · tk haýynlyk etmek (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sl izdati (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · bg разкривам (to disclose or discover) · fi kavaltaa (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · la prōdō (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · fi pettää (to show or to indicate) · fi paljastaa (to disclose or discover) · nl verraden (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · sv bedraga (to lead astray, as a maiden) · ca trair (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · be здра́дзіць (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · es entregar (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sv vilseleda (to lead astray, as a maiden) · ms belot (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · my သစ္စာဖောက် (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · lt išduoti (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ur دھوکا دینا (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 出賣 /出卖 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · gl traizoar (to prove faithless or treacherous) · it tradire (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ro trăda (to prove faithless or treacherous) · fro traïr (to prove faithless or treacherous) · hi धोखा देना (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · be здра́джваць (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 背棄 /背弃 (to prove faithless or treacherous) · nl verraden (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · hi धोका देना (to prove faithless or treacherous) · de verführen (to lead astray, as a maiden) · sq tradhëtoj (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · es vender (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ang meldian (to show or to indicate) · es delatar (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ca confondre (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · es demostrar (to show or to indicate) · la oleō (to disclose or discover) · sw kusaliti (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · is svíkja (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh ìzdati (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · got 𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · tg хиёнат кардан (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · bg предава́м (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · nn svika (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · km កំបត់ (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · de verraten (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 辜負 /辜负 (to prove faithless or treacherous) · nl verspreken (to disclose or discover) · uz xoinlik qilmoq (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · hi धोखा देना (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · mi whakamoho (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sh ѝздати (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh odati (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · es delatar (to disclose or discover) · sv förråda (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 透露 (to disclose or discover) · cmn 顯露 /显露 (to show or to indicate) · he הִסְגִּיר (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ja 反逆する (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · tg кӯрнамакӣ кардан (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · fr livrer (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ang lǣwan (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · grc παραδίδωμι (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · nrf trahi (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · cmn 背叛 (to prove faithless or treacherous) · ajp خان (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · lv nodot (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · eo perfidi (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · et reetma (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 暴露 (to disclose or discover) · fa خیانت کردن (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh zalutati (to lead astray, as a maiden) · cmn 誘騙 /诱骗 (to lead astray, as a maiden) · sh obelodaniti (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · la dētegō (to disclose or discover) · la in errōrem dūcō (to mislead, to lead into error or sin) · ro trăda (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · it tradire (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · oc traïr (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · sh zavesti (to lead astray, as a maiden) · ja 裏切る (to prove faithless or treacherous) · sh ìzdati (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · uk зра́джувати (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ka ღალატი (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · cmn 洩露 /泄露 (to disclose or discover) · la dēferō (to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret) · ltg izdūt (to deliver into the hands of an enemy) · ru вы́дать (to disclose or discover) · ro afla (to disclose or discover)