treason

[tree-zuhn]

noun

1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.

2. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state.

3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

treason

/ ˈtriːzən /

noun

1. violation or betrayal of the allegiance that a person owes his sovereign or his country, esp by attempting to overthrow the government; high treason

2. any treachery or betrayal

Other Word Forms

• supertreason noun
• treasonableness noun
• treasonable adjective
• treasonably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of treason¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English tre(i)so(u)n, from Anglo-French; Old French traïson, from Latin trāditiōn-, stem of trāditiō “delivery, transfer, betrayal”; tradition

Word History and Origins

Origin of treason¹

C13: from Old French traïson , from Latin trāditiō a handing over; see _tradition , _traditor

Synonym Study

Treason, sedition mean disloyalty or treachery to one's country or its government. Treason is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government. Sedition is any act, writing, speech, etc., directed unlawfully against state authority, the government, or constitution, or calculated to bring it into contempt or to incite others to hostility, ill will or disaffection; it does not amount to treason and therefore is not a capital offense. See disloyalty.

Example Sentences

Tundu Lissu, the main opposition leader, is in jail on treason charges, which he denies, and his party boycotted the vote.

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They say she wanted an emphatic victory to cement her position, and the authorities banned the main opposition party, Chadema, and put its leader on trial for treason.

Read more on Barron's

This, the agent reports, is viewed by some as “treason.”

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"Ivanishvili is really the driver, he decided for some reason that there is some kind of treason in his team," Nodia said.

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He was present to attend the ongoing treason trial of party leader Tundu Lissu, detained in April and potentially facing the death penalty.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• crime 
• mutiny 
• sedition 
• subversion 
• treachery