treason

[tree-zuhn]

noun

1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.

2. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state.

3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

treason

/ ˈtriːzən /

noun

1. violation or betrayal of the allegiance that a person owes his sovereign or his country, esp by attempting to overthrow the government; high treason

2. any treachery or betrayal

Other Word Forms

• supertreason noun
• treasonableness noun
• treasonable adjective
• treasonably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of treason¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English tre(i)so(u)n, from Anglo-French; Old French traïson, from Latin trāditiōn-, stem of trāditiō “delivery, transfer, betrayal”; tradition

Word History and Origins

Origin of treason¹

C13: from Old French traïson , from Latin trāditiō a handing over; see _tradition , _traditor

Synonym Study

Treason, sedition mean disloyalty or treachery to one's country or its government. Treason is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government. Sedition is any act, writing, speech, etc., directed unlawfully against state authority, the government, or constitution, or calculated to bring it into contempt or to incite others to hostility, ill will or disaffection; it does not amount to treason and therefore is not a capital offense. See disloyalty.

Example Sentences

The penalty for treason can be death and for sedition up to 20 years in prison.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

At least 240 people were charged with treason after the protests, but the president later sought to ease tension and asked prosecutors to "show leniency".

Read more on BBC

He is falsely accused of treason and sentenced to the dreaded Château d’If, a prison located on a small island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Read more on Literature

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

Read more on Barron's

In October Senesh was charged with treason and placed on trial, where she asserted her innocence and accused the Hungarian judges of “wickedness.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crime 
• mutiny 
• sedition 
• subversion 
• treachery