Adjacent Words

Traitor definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRA'ITOR, n. [L. traditor; trado, to deliver.]
1. One who violates his allegiance and betrays his country; one guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers his country to its enemy, or any fort or place entrusted to his defense, or who surrenders an army or body of troops to the enemy, unless when vanquished; or one who takes arms and levies war against his country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering his country. [See Treason.]
2. One who betrays his trust.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: someone who betrays his country by committing treason [syn: traitor, treasonist]
2: a person who says one thing and does another [syn: double- crosser, double-dealer, two-timer, betrayer, traitor]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English traytour, from Anglo-French traitre, from Latin traditor, from tradere to hand over, deliver, betray, from trans-, tra- trans- + dare to give — more at date Date: 13th century 1. one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty 2. one who commits treason

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (fem. traitress) (often foll. by to) a person who is treacherous or disloyal, esp. to his country. Derivatives: traitorous adj. traitorously adv. Etymology: ME f. OF tra{iuml}t(o)ur f. L traditor -oris f. tradere: see TRADITION

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Traitor Trai"tor, n. [OE. traitour, OF. tra["i]tor, tra["i]teur, F. tre[^i]tre, L. traditor, fr. tradere, traditum, to deliver, to give up or surrender treacherously, to betray; trans across, over + dare to give. See Date time, and cf. Betray,Tradition, Traditor, Treason.] 1. One who violates his allegiance and betrays his country; one guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers his country to an enemy, or yields up any fort or place intrusted to his defense, or surrenders an army or body of troops to the enemy, unless when vanquished; also, one who takes arms and levies war against his country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering his country. See Treason. O passing traitor, perjured and unjust! --Shak. 2. Hence, one who betrays any confidence or trust; a betrayer. ``This false traitor death.'' --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Traitor Trai"tor, a. Traitorous. [R.] --Spenser. Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Traitor Trai"tor, v. t. To act the traitor toward; to betray; to deceive. [Obs.] `` But time, it traitors me.'' --Lithgow.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(traitors) 1. If you call someone a traitor, you mean that they have betrayed beliefs that they used to hold, or that their friends hold, by their words or actions. Some say he's a traitor to the working class. N-COUNT: oft N to n [disapproval] 2. If someone is a traitor, they betray their country or a group of which they are a member by helping its enemies, especially during time of war. ...rumours that there were traitors among us who were sending messages to the enemy. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Betrayer (especially of one's country), deceiver, renegade, apostate, perfidious person. 2. Rebel, insurgent, revolter, deserter, mutineer.

Moby Thesaurus

Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Judas, Judas Iscariot, Quisling, agitator, apostate, archtraitor, backslider, betrayer, bolter, brawler, cockatrice, collaborationist, collaborator, conniver, conspirator, conspirer, convert, convict, criminal, crook, deceiver, defector, deserter, desperado, desperate criminal, double agent, double-crosser, double-dealer, extremist, felon, fifth columnist, frondeur, fugitive, gallows bird, gangster, gaolbird, informer, insubordinate, insurgent, insurrectionary, insurrectionist, insurrecto, intrigant, intriguer, jailbird, lawbreaker, machinator, malcontent, maverick, mobster, mugwump, mutineer, nonconformist, outlaw, plotter, proselyte, public enemy, quisling, racketeer, rat, rebel, recidivist, recreant, renegade, renegado, renegate, reversionist, revolter, revolutionary, revolutionist, rioter, runagate, schemer, schismatic, scofflaw, scoundrel, seceder, secessionist, separatist, serpent, snake, strikebreaker, subversive, swindler, tergiversant, tergiversator, thief, thug, timeserver, treasonist, trimmer, turnabout, turncoat, turntail, two-timer