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:
To believe that even good women might see their minds betray them so spectacularly would be to rescind control over an entire ideology that helps organize your world.
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
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
"It will never betray you, will always be loyal to you, and will love you unconditionally."
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
“I heard about them tracing the codes back to Agent Magnus. There’s no way he would betray the Bureau like that. It had to be Maria.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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
That narrative betrays a rookie mistake that’s known among statisticians as the “gambler’s fallacy.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Expecting Scotland to 'go for it' like mad dogs in a meathouse betrays a serious lack of understanding of the weather here.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The Wrap said "at times it betrays its amateur beginnings with clunky plotting."
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
His expression is calm, but he’s angry—the terseness in his voice betrays him.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
“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
While others burned brightly for a short time before being betrayed by their bodies, he was a picture of consistency through the early days of his career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 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
“That’s not for me to say,” was Amy’s grim reply, but her lips would smile, and there was a traitorous sparkle of the eye which betrayed that she knew her power and enjoyed the knowledge.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
He said Simms did the right thing by not betraying his friendship with Shanahan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
But that refusal to risk vulnerability comes back to bite her when the daughter she turned herself inside out to spoil pulls a move reminiscent of Veda in “Mildred Pierce,” betraying Emma for vapid reasons.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 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
He filled out the birth certificate without faltering, betraying no emotion at all as he handed the completed form to the floor nurse.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
