betray
Americanverb (used with object)
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betrays,
present (3rd person singular)
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betrayed,
past participle, past
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betraying
present participle
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to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty.
Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.
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to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling.
to betray a trust.
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to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to.
to betray one's friends.
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to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence.
to betray a secret.
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to reveal unconsciously (something one would preferably conceal).
Her nervousness betrays her insecurity.
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to show or exhibit; reveal; disclose.
an unfeeling remark that betrays his lack of concern.
- Synonyms:
- uncover, demonstrate, manifest, display
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to deceive, misguide, or corrupt.
a young lawyer betrayed by political ambitions into irreparable folly.
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to seduce and desert.
verb
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to aid an enemy of (one's nation, friend, etc); be a traitor to
to betray one's country
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to hand over or expose (one's nation, friend, etc) treacherously to an enemy
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to disclose (a secret, confidence, etc) treacherously
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to break (a promise) or be disloyal to (a person's trust)
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to disappoint the expectations of; fail
his tired legs betrayed him
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to show signs of; indicate
if one taps china, the sound betrays any faults
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to reveal unintentionally
his grin betrayed his satisfaction
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to reveal one's true character, intentions, etc
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to lead astray; deceive
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euphemistic to seduce and then forsake (a woman)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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betrayalnoun
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betrayernoun
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prebetrayverb (used with object)
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self-betrayingadjective
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unbetrayingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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betraysimple
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betrayssimple
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have betrayedperfect
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has betrayedperfect
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am betrayingprogressive
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are betrayingprogressive
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is betrayingprogressive
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have been betrayingperfect progressive
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has been betrayingperfect progressive
Past
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betrayedsimple
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had betrayedperfect
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was betrayingprogressive
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were betrayingprogressive
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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
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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:
In an address to the nation on Thursday, Peña said that he was sorry and that "it was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me".
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
“Someone on the call decided to betray all of us,” Mr. Hartl said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
What’s chilling about these interviews is how they don’t feel like whistleblowing but rather a fact-finding inquiry with available explainers who betray little affect or remorse, even when the topic of personal doubt arises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
Gregg had once told Agent Burger that he knew something about the murders, though he remained coy, insisting that he couldn’t betray a confidence.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The facade of the building betrays no affiliation—neither hammer nor sickle.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
That narrative betrays a rookie mistake that’s known among statisticians as the “gambler’s fallacy.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
In the casino, Sarris eagerly greets his employees with a friendliness that betrays his repeated insistence that he’s a reclusive writer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
But the language used throughout the filing to describe potential confusion betrays their fears.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
But everything about him—his sense of command, a confidence that betrays how often he comes here, the fact that there is nothing, nothing I can read about him—makes my heartbeat quicken.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
“It betrayed the trust of all partners who were willing to share information at the time,” said Geoff Hale, who worked on CISA’s elections team from the agency’s inception until last year.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
After years of heavy pressure from their parents to do well in school, many young people feel burned out and betrayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
In a news release, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Rush "abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
"David Rush abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Boaz backed away from both, his gaze shifting restlessly between the two identical versions of the girl he’d willingly given his neck to, the girl he had betrayed and nearly had buried.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
She says she has faced a coordinated smear campaign against her, which has at times invoked her son's death and accusations that she is betraying his memory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
He said Simms did the right thing by not betraying his friendship with Shanahan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The contacts didn’t show Xiao was betraying his commitments, Gannon replied, arguing the employees in question were lower-level staff, who may have operated without Xiao’s knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
“We’re not really allowed to use them,” Bobby Gene confessed, betraying the brotherhood.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
