betray
Americanverb (used with object)
-
betrays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
betrayed,
past participle, past
-
betraying
present participle
-
to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty.
Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.
-
to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling.
to betray a trust.
-
to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to.
to betray one's friends.
-
to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence.
to betray a secret.
-
to reveal unconsciously (something one would preferably conceal).
Her nervousness betrays her insecurity.
-
to show or exhibit; reveal; disclose.
an unfeeling remark that betrays his lack of concern.
- Synonyms:
- uncover, demonstrate, manifest, display
-
to deceive, misguide, or corrupt.
a young lawyer betrayed by political ambitions into irreparable folly.
-
to seduce and desert.
verb
-
to aid an enemy of (one's nation, friend, etc); be a traitor to
to betray one's country
-
to hand over or expose (one's nation, friend, etc) treacherously to an enemy
-
to disclose (a secret, confidence, etc) treacherously
-
to break (a promise) or be disloyal to (a person's trust)
-
to disappoint the expectations of; fail
his tired legs betrayed him
-
to show signs of; indicate
if one taps china, the sound betrays any faults
-
to reveal unintentionally
his grin betrayed his satisfaction
-
to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
-
to lead astray; deceive
-
euphemistic to seduce and then forsake (a woman)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
betrayalnoun
-
betrayernoun
-
prebetrayverb (used with object)
-
self-betrayingadjective
-
unbetrayingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
betraysimple
-
betrayssimple
-
have betrayedperfect
-
has betrayedperfect
-
am betrayingprogressive
-
are betrayingprogressive
-
is betrayingprogressive
-
have been betrayingperfect progressive
-
has been betrayingperfect progressive
Past
-
betrayedsimple
-
had betrayedperfect
-
was betrayingprogressive
-
were betrayingprogressive
-
had been betrayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of betray
First recorded in 1200–50; from Middle English bitraien, equivalent to bi- be- + traien, from Old French trair, from Latin trādere “to betray”; see traitor
Explanation
When you betray someone or something, you provide information whether you mean to do it or not, like the loud growling of your stomach that betrays your hunger or the secret you tell about your friend that betrays her trust. When you betray someone or something, you reveal something, like a secret or your true feelings. You may betray your impatience, for example, if you sit at your desk tapping your fingers. There is another meaning of betray that is just the opposite: lie. You betray your friend if you pretend that something is true just to trick him into doing what you want. In this case, betray means the same thing as deceive.
Vocabulary lists containing betray
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Beowulf vocabulary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Purple Hibiscus
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But stunningly high numbers of women report having intrusive thoughts about harming their children—moments when their own brains betray them, when it’s clear that none of us are in total control over our own minds.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Hrgovic, hardened by the kind of difficult nights Itauma had never experienced, simply stayed there and waited for the younger man's body to betray him.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Schwartz only won Senate confirmation on Wednesday, after a hearing in which she pledged to “never betray the science” on which CDC policies are based.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Detained since late January 2025, he described his time already spent behind bars as “extraordinarily difficult” and said, “I did not betray my country.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He thought about a quote from the novelist E. M. Forster: “If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The facade of the building betrays no affiliation—neither hammer nor sickle.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
While voters’ choices have been, more often than not, defensible, the unanimity betrays a lack of imagination and drains any hint of drama from the ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
But the size of the spending betrays how worried they are about people power.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
That narrative betrays a rookie mistake that’s known among statisticians as the “gambler’s fallacy.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
On the contrary, her face is divided into two parts, one with a somber expression, the other with a masklike appearance whose color nevertheless betrays passionate feeling.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
“That was when everything exploded. On a personal level, we felt betrayed, but on a broader level, we felt treasoned,” he told me.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
"He feels Harry has betrayed him. He's made that clear."
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
But she said she felt "betrayed and deflated" when the arrangements she had verbally agreed before starting work were changed by a new manager.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Trump has told advisers that he is angry with Pirro and felt betrayed by the court filing, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He didn’t speak at first, but his eyes betrayed emotion that jumped between disbelief and anger.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
He said Simms did the right thing by not betraying his friendship with Shanahan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Over a century ago, when the Supreme Court helped usher in Jim Crow, Justice John Marshall Harlan took his colleagues to task for betraying the promise of Reconstruction.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Alas, the results are mixed, betraying the stark limits of this approach and the need for a kind of history that fully integrates anguished medieval chronicles with modern molecular evidence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Musk in 2024, accusing Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars into OpenAI, of betraying the company's original non-profit mission.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
He thought about a quote from the novelist E. M. Forster: “If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
