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:
"It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
“I both embrace but betray certain rules,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 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
For nearly three decades, Jeff Probst has welcomed a new set of strangers to a remote location, where they make alliances, betray each other and get voted off in pursuit of a $1 million prize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Anya watched Vasilisa, scanning around her for threads that would betray any fear in her.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Here “The Storytellers” betrays its origins as a course of lectures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Selfless, naive Gretta gives Max her blessing and her rights, and almost immediately he betrays her with another woman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The facade of the building betrays no affiliation—neither hammer nor sickle.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
But the size of the spending betrays how worried they are about people power.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
His low whistle betrays disappointment at what he finds—or fails to find—between the boy’s ears.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
"You have devastated and betrayed the trust of thousands of people, and you've let entire communities down," Cormann said on Monday, according to WA Today.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
“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
Elisabeth converted to Catholicism in 1895, but was betrayed in 1944 by the right-wing mayor of the village where she was living quietly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In early October, Trump was asked about Latino voters who say they feel betrayed by his administration’s immigration and economic policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Around him stood the members of a cult, a secret brotherhood that he had betrayed.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
You could not have stopped it falling by watching it on livestream, and you are not betraying your fellow humans by taking care of yourself instead of tree-watching 24/7.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
He said Simms did the right thing by not betraying his friendship with Shanahan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 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
He says Somalis fighting on the side of the Ethiopians were viewed as traitors for "betraying their country".
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
I worried about betraying him, even though I barely knew him.
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
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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.
