treacherous
Americanadjective
-
characterized by faithlessness or readiness to betray trust; traitorous.
- Synonyms:
- treasonous, faithless, unfaithful
- Antonyms:
- loyal
-
deceptive, untrustworthy, or unreliable.
- Synonyms:
- deceitful
- Antonyms:
- reliable
-
unstable or insecure, as footing.
-
a treacherous climb.
adjective
-
betraying or likely to betray faith or confidence
-
unstable, unreliable, or dangerous
treacherous weather
treacherous ground
Other Word Forms
- treacherously adverb
- treacherousness noun
- untreacherous adjective
- untreacherousness noun
Etymology
Origin of treacherous
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English trecherous, from Anglo-French, equivalent to trecher “deceiver” ( trech(ier) “to deceive” + -er -er 2 ) + -ous -ous; compare French tricheur “trickster”
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.
The National Weather Service said blizzard conditions would "quickly materialize" from Maryland up to southeastern New England, making travel "extremely treacherous."
From Barron's
“Sharply reduced visibility will make travel extremely treacherous across these areas.”
From Barron's
Tuesday, setting off a challenging rescue operation in treacherous, remote, freezing conditions, eventually reaching the six survivors around 5:30 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times
Conditions on Wednesday remained dangerous, multiple officials said, with Woo describing the climate as "treacherous".
From BBC
Six have been accounted for, but mountain rescue teams battling treacherous conditions were still trying to reach them while also looking for the others, as snow continued to fall and daylight faded.
From Barron's
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.
