sellout

[sel-out]

See more synonyms for sellout on Thesaurus.com

noun

an act or instance of selling out.
an entertainment, as a show or athletic event, for which all the seats are sold.
Informal. a person who betrays a cause, organization, or the like; traitor.

Informal. a person who compromises his or her personal values, integrity, talent, or the like, for money or personal advancement.

Origin of sellout

1855–60, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase sell out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sellout

giveaway, double-dealing, deception, trickery, duplicity, treachery, unfaithfulness, perfidy, treason, falseness, dishonesty

Examples from the Web for sellout

Contemporary Examples of sellout

If one is a person of color and a conservative, one must then be an Uncle Tom, a sellout to his or her race.
In Kentucky, Elaine Chao Endures Racist Attacks From Liberals
Ron Christie
August 5, 2014
But if you live on tea party planet, Boehner has been a sellout.
On Border, a Huge Win for the Hard Right
Michael Tomasky
August 4, 2014
The contention was that a sellout was taking place led by, of all people, Richard Nixon, who originally exposed Alger Hiss.
The End of the Illusion: America Finally Learns Its Limits
Jacob Heilbrunn
April 30, 2013
Ideological polarization, however, eviscerates the center by treating compromise as a sellout.
The Bill Clinton and DLC Model For Reinventing the Republican Party
Will Marshall
March 14, 2013
It also requires that liberals think differently about politics and not interpret every Obama shortcoming as some kind of sellout.
How Obama Can Become Our Era’s Reagan
Michael Tomasky
January 21, 2013

Word Origin and History for sellout

also sell-out, "corrupt bargain," 1862 (in Mary Chesnut's diary), from the verbal phrase (at that time often meaning "dispose of one's interests" in a company, etc.), from sell (v.) + out (adv.). Meaning "event for which all tickets have been sold" is attested from 1923. The verbal phrase sell out "prostitute one's ideals or talents" is attested from 1888.