Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To give aid or information to an enemy of; commit treason against.
- transitive verb To inform upon or deliver into the hands of an enemy in violation of a trust or allegiance.
- transitive verb To be false or disloyal to.
- transitive verb To divulge in a breach of confidence.
- transitive verb To make known unintentionally.
- transitive verb To lead astray; deceive.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To deliver to, or expose to the power of, an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: as, an officer betrayed the city.
- To violate by fraud or unfaithfulness; be unfaithful in keeping or upholding: as, to
betray a trust. - To act treacherously to; be disloyal to; disappoint the hopes or expectations of.
- To deceive; beguile; mislead; seduce.
- To reveal or disclose in violation of confidence; make known through breach of faith or obligation: as, to
betray a person's secrets or designs. - To show in true character; allow to be seen; permit to appear in spite of will or desire.
- To indicate; give indication or evidence of: said of something not obvious at first view, or that would otherwise be concealed.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.
- transitive verb To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive.
- transitive verb To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
- transitive verb To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
- transitive verb To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin.
- transitive verb To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
- transitive verb To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
deliver into the hands of an enemy bytreachery orfraud , in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city. - verb To
prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive; as, to betray a person or a cause. - verb To
violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. - verb To
disclose ordiscover , as something which prudence would conceal; toreveal unintentionally; tobewray . - verb To
mislead ; toexpose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin. - verb To lead astray, as a maiden; to
seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon. - verb To
show or toindicate ; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb reveal unintentionally
- verb give away information about somebody
- verb be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
- verb deliver to an enemy by treachery
- verb disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
- verb cause someone to believe an untruth
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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What it again seems to betray is the notion that fiction is much like film, only a little bit different, affording the opportunity to make explicit what in LaBute's films is implicit.
Realism in Fiction 2008
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The specific language of the ad uses the word betray, rather than traitor.
The Volokh Conspiracy » The Reaction to the MoveOn.Org “General Betray Us” Ad: 2007
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She didn't look as nervous as he felt, nor did her expression betray what she was thinking as she approached him.
Message in a Bottle Sparks, Nicholas 1998
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The reasons lie deep in our compound nature, being probably inarticulate; and our action in a fragmentary way betrays our moral disposition: betrays it in both senses of the word betray, now revealing it unawares, and now sadly disappointing it.
Some Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy Five Essays George Santayana 1907
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Whatever the case, using "betray" -- a word associated with treason -- recalls the ugly McCarthy era, when for too many Republicans dissent corresponded with disloyalty.
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Whatever the case, using "betray" -- a word associated with treason -- recalls the ugly McCarthy era, when for too many Republicans dissent corresponded with disloyalty.
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And before his expression could betray him, he slipped out the door and back to the first-year corridor.
KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY VIOLET HABERDASHER 2010
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And before his expression could betray him, he slipped out the door and back to the first-year corridor.
KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY VIOLET HABERDASHER 2010
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Even when John Leguizamo and Boring Whatsisname betray each other, it's with a manly hug.
Kenneth Hite's Journal princeofcairo 2006
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His flat options for a title further betray his depression: he toyed with “Imitating the Equator,” “Another Innocent Abroad,” “The Latest,” and “The Surviving Innocent Abroad”; not until July did he decide on Following the Equator and its faintly redundant subtitle, A Journey Around the World.
Mark Twain Ron Powers 2005
sarahlena commented on the word betray
hintergehen= betray a friend when you tell a secret
May 27, 2009