Adjacent Words

Betray definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BETRA'Y, v.t. [L.traho.]
1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; as, an officer betrayed the city.
The son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. Matthew 17.
2. To violate by fraud, or unfaithfulness; as, to betray a trust.
If the people of America ever betray their trust, their guilt will merit even greater punishment than other nations have suffered, and the indignation of heaven.
3. To violate confidence by disclosing a secret, or that which was intrusted; to expose; followed by the person, or the thing; as, my friend betrayed me, or betrayed the secret.
4. To disclose, or permit to appear, what is intended to be kept secret, or what prudence would conceal.
Be swift to hear, but cautions of your tongue, lest you betray your ignorance.
Hence,
5. To mislead or expose to inconvenience not foreseen; as, great confidence betrays a man into errors.
6. To show; to discover; to indicate what is not obvious at first view, or would otherwise be concealed.
Nor, after length of years, a stone betray
The place where once the very ruins lay.
This river betrays its original in its name.
All the names in the country betray great antiquity.
7. To fail, or deceive.
But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: reveal unintentionally; "Her smile betrayed her true feelings" [syn: betray, bewray]
2: deliver to an enemy by treachery; "Judas sold Jesus"; "The spy betrayed his country" [syn: betray, sell]
3: disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis" [syn: fail, betray]
4: be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage; "She cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?" [syn: cheat on, cheat, cuckold, betray, wander]
5: give away information about somebody; "He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: denounce, tell on, betray, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stag]
6: cause someone to believe an untruth; "The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house" [syn: deceive, betray, lead astray] [ant: undeceive]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from be- + trayen to betray, from Anglo-French trahir, from Latin tradere — more at traitor Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to lead astray; especially seduce 2. to deliver to an enemy by treachery 3. to fail or desert especially in time of need <betrayed his family> 4. a. to reveal unintentionally <betray one's true feelings> b. show, indicate c. to disclose in violation of confidence <betray a secret> intransitive verb to prove false Synonyms: see reveal • betrayal noun • betrayer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 place (a person, one's country, etc.) in the hands or power of an enemy. 2 be disloyal to (another person, a person's trust, etc.). 3 reveal involuntarily or treacherously; be evidence of (his shaking hand betrayed his fear). 4 lead astray or into error. Derivatives: betrayal n. betrayer n. Etymology: ME f. obs. tray, ult. f. L tradere hand over

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Betray Be*tray" (b[-e]*tr[=a]"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Betrayed (-tr[=a]d"); p. pr. & vb. n. Betraying.] [OE. betraien, bitraien; pref. be- + OF. tra["i]r to betray, F. trahir, fr. L. tradere. See Traitor.] 1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city. Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. --Matt. xvii. 22. 2. To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive; as, to betray a person or a cause. But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me. --Johnson. 3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. Willing to serve or betray any government for hire. --Macaulay. 4. To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally. Be swift to hear, but cautious of your tongue, lest you betray your ignorance. --T. Watts. 5. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin. Genius . . . often betrays itself into great errors. --T. Watts. 6. To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon. 7. To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed. All the names in the country betray great antiquity. --Bryant.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(betrays, betraying, betrayed) 1. If you betray someone who loves or trusts you, your actions hurt and disappoint them. When I tell someone I will not betray his confidence I keep my word... The President betrayed them when he went back on his promise not to raise taxes. VERB: V n, V n • betrayer (betrayers) She was her friend and now calls her a betrayer. N-COUNT 2. If someone betrays their country or their friends, they give information to an enemy, putting their country's security or their friends' safety at risk. They offered me money if I would betray my associates... The group were informers, and they betrayed the plan to the Germans. VERB: V n, V n to n • betrayer 'Traitor!' she screamed. 'Betrayer of England!' N-COUNT 3. If you betray an ideal or your principles, you say or do something which goes against those beliefs. We betray the ideals of our country when we support capital punishment. VERB: V n • betrayer Babearth regarded the middle classes as the betrayers of the Revolution. N-COUNT 4. If you betray a feeling or quality, you show it without intending to. She studied his face, but it betrayed nothing... ? conceal VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-tra' (ramah; paradidomi): In the Old Testament only once (1Ch 12:17). David warns those who had deserted to him from Saul: "If ye be come to betray me to mine adversaries .... the God of our fathers look thereon." The same Hebrew word is elsewhere translated "beguile" (Ge 29:25; Jos 9:22), "deceive" (1Sa 19:17; 28:12; 2Sa 19:26; Pr 26:19; La 1:19).

In the New Testament, for paradidomi: 36 times, of the betrayal of Jesus Christ, and only 3 times besides (Mt 24:10; Mr 13:12; Lu 21:16) of kinsmen delivering up one another to prosecution. In these three places the Revised Version (British and American) translates according to the more general meaning, "to deliver up," and also (in Mt 17:22; 20:18; 26:16; Mr 14:10,21; Lu 22:4,6) where it refers to the delivering up of Jesus. The Revisers' idea was perhaps to retain "betray" only in direct references to Judas' act, but they have not strictly followed that rule. Judas' act was more than that of giving a person up to the authorities; he did it under circumstances of treachery which modified its character:

(a) he took advantage of his intimate relation with Jesus Christ as a disciple to put Him in the hands of His enemies;

(b) he did it stealthily by night, and

(c) by a kiss, an act which professed affection and friendliness;

(d) he did it for money, and

(e) he knew that Jesus Christ was innocent of any crime (Mt 27:4).

T. Rees

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Deliver up (by breach of trust), give up treacherously, give over to the foe. 2. Violate, break, prove recreant to, let perish, be false to. 3. Violate the confidence of, disclose the secrets of, deceive by treachery. 4. Divulge, reveal, discover, expose, tell, blab, show, make known. 5. Display, exhibit, manifest, show, indicate, imply, betoken, argue, evince, expose, reveal, uncover. 6. Mislead, lure, ensnare, entrap, beguile, delude, inveigle. 7. Seduce, ruin, corrupt, undo, lead astray.

Moby Thesaurus

abuse, apostatize, babble, bamboozle, be indiscreet, be unguarded, bear witness against, beguile, betoken, betray a confidence, blab, blabber, blow the whistle, bluff, blurt, blurt out, bolt, break away, break faith, cajole, cheat on, circumvent, collaborate, conjure, cross, debauch, deceive, defect, defile, deflower, delude, demonstrate, desert, despoil, diddle, disclose, discover, divulge, double-cross, dupe, ensnare, entrap, evidence, evince, expose, fail, fink, fool, force, forestall, gammon, get around, give away, gull, hoax, hocus-pocus, hoodwink, hornswaggle, humbug, impart, indicate, inform, inform against, inform on, juggle, lay bare, lead astray, leak, let down, let drop, let fall, let slip, manifest, misguide, mislead, mock, narc, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, peach, pigeon, play one false, pull out, put something over, rape, rat, ravage, ravish, renegade, reveal, reveal a secret, ruin, run out on, secede, seduce, sell, sell out, shop, show, sing, snare, snitch, snitch on, snow, soil, spill, spill the beans, split, squeal, stool, string along, sully, take in, talk, tattle, tattle on, tell, tell on, tell secrets, tell tales, testify against, trap, trick, turn in, turn informer, two-time, uncover, unveil, violate