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Synonyms

traitor

American  
[trey-ter] / ˈtreɪ tər /

noun

  1. a person who betrays another person, a cause, or any trust.

  2. a person who commits treason by betraying their country.


traitor British  
/ ˈtreɪtə /

noun

  1. a person who is guilty of treason or treachery, in betraying friends, country, a cause or trust, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • traitorous adjective
  • traitorously adverb
  • traitorship noun
  • traitress noun

Etymology

Origin of traitor

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English from Old French from Latin trāditōr-, stem of trāditor “betrayer”; traditor

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.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, the contestants complete a number of challenges to win money for the prize pot and must try to root out and banish the traitors at a roundtable discussion each night.

From BBC

With that I put all thoughts of traitors and worms aside—finally, we are going to visit the beach!

From Literature

“I think it’s time that we abandon this disrespectful word malinchista to refer to someone as a traitor to Mexico,” said Roberto Pineda, 61, a cafe owner who enjoyed the spectacle.

From Los Angeles Times

Things did not go as planned, the host did not pick the 29-year-old to be a traitor, leading to a change of tactics.

From BBC

Rachel managed to deceive and conquer throughout the game with her right-hand man, fellow traitor and fellow winner Stephen, who was someone she trusted from the start.

From BBC