verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/bɪˈtɹeɪ/
/bəˈtɹeɪ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪ
CMU ARPABET:B IH0 T R EY1
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
verb
Meaning 1
To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
An officer betrayed the city.
He betrayed his own sister to the secret police.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
to betray a person or a cause
Quresh betrayed Sunil to marry Nuzhat.
My eyes have been betraying me since I turned sixty.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sell, quisle, traitorize
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To disclose (a secret, etc.) in deliberate violation of someone’s confidence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: give away
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To disclose or indicate, for example something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
Though he had lived in England for many years, a faint accent betrayed his Swedish origin.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: give away
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen; to lead into error or sin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
verb
Meaning 7
To lead astray; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
give away information about somebody
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: denounce, tell on, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stag
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: inform
Narrower terms: sell out
9
verb
Meaning 9
cause someone to believe an untruth
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: deceive, lead astray
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: misinform, mislead
Narrower terms: pose, impersonate, personate, bamboozle, snow, hoodwink, pull the wool over someone's eyes, lead by the nose, play false, gull, dupe, slang, befool, cod, fool, put on, take in, put one over, put one across
10
verb
Meaning 10
reveal unintentionally
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
Her smile betrayed her true feelings
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bewray
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let out
be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
She cheats on her husband
Might her husband be wandering?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cheat on, cheat, cuckold, wander
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: deceive, lead on, delude, cozen
Narrower terms: two-time, play around, fool around
History
Etymology
From Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). Middle English bi- is from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h1epi (“at, near”). Compare also traitor, treason, tradition. The modern sense “to disclose, discover, reveal unintentionally” is due to influence from or merger with English bewray (“to reveal, divulge”), which is similar in sound and meaning. The similarity with German betrügen, Dutch bedriegen, from Proto-West Germanic *bidreugan (“to betray, deceive”), is coincidental.
Across languages
Translations
254 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
tradhëtoj
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Arabic:
خانَ
(ḵāna)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Arabic:
خان
(ḵān)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Arabic:
خان
(ḵān)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Armenian:
դավաճանել
(davačanel)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Azerbaijani:
xəyanət etmək
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Basque:
saldu
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Belarusian:
здра́джваць
(zdrádžvacʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Belarusian:
здра́дзіць
(zdrádzicʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Bengali:
বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা করা
(biśśaśoghatkota kora)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Bulgarian:
предава́м
(predavám)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Burmese:
သစ္စာဖောက်
(saccahpauk)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Catalan:
trair
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Chinese Mandarin:
背叛
(bèipàn)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Chinese Mandarin:
出賣 /出卖
(chūmài)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Chinese Mandarin:
叛賣 /叛卖
(pànmài)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Czech:
zradit
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Danish:
forråde
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Dutch:
verraden
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Esperanto:
perfidi
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Estonian:
reetma
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Finnish:
kavaltaa
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
French:
trahir
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
French:
livrer
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Old French:
traïr
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Galician:
traizoar
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Georgian:
ღალატი
(ɣalaṭi)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
German:
verraten
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Gothic:
𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽
(lēwjan)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Greek:
προδίδω
(prodído)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Ancient Greek:
παραδίδωμι
(paradídōmi)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Hebrew:
הִסְגִּיר
(hisgír)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Hindi:
धोखा देना
(dhokhā denā)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Hungarian:
elárul
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Icelandic:
svíkja
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Indonesian:
mengkhianati
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Italian:
consegnare
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Japanese:
裏切る
(uragiru)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Japanese:
反逆する
(hangyaku suru)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Kashmiri:
دونٛکھہٕ دُیٛن
(dōnkhhụ duen)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Kazakh:
сатып кету
(satyp ketu)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Kazakh:
ұстап беру
(ūstap beru)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Khmer:
ក្បត់
(kbɑt)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Khmer:
កំបត់
(kɑmbɑt)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Korean:
배반하다
(baebanhada)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Korean:
배신하다
(baesinhada)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Kyrgyz:
чыккынчылык кылуу
(cıkkıncılık kıluu)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Lao:
ຫັກຫລັງ
(hak lang)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Latgalian:
izdūt
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Latin:
prōdō
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Latvian:
nodot
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Lithuanian:
išduoti
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Macedonian:
предава
(predava)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Malay:
belot
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Malay:
khianat
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Malay:
mengkhianati
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Malayalam:
ഒറ്റുക
(oṟṟuka)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Māori:
kaikaiwaiū
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Mongolian:
урвах
(urvax)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Norman:
trahi
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Norwegian Bokmål:
forråde
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Norwegian Nynorsk:
svika
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Occitan:
traïr
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Old English:
lǣwan
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Persian:
خیانت کردن
(xiyânat kardan)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Plautdietsch:
veroden
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Polish:
wydać
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Polish:
zdradzić
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Portuguese:
trair
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Romanian:
trăda
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Russian:
предава́ть
(predavátʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Russian:
преда́ть
(predátʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Russian:
выдава́ть
(vydavátʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Russian:
вы́дать
(výdatʹ)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Serbo-Croatian:
ѝздати
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Serbo-Croatian:
ìzdati
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Slovak:
zradiť
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Slovene:
izdati
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Spanish:
traicionar
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Spanish:
entregar
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Spanish:
vender
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Old Spanish:
traer
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Old Spanish:
dar traçión
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Swahili:
kusaliti
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Swedish:
förråda
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Swedish:
svika
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Tajik:
хиёнат кардан
(xiyonat kardan)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Tajik:
кӯрнамакӣ кардан
(kürnamaki kardan)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Thai:
ทรยศ
(tɔɔ-rá-yót)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Thai:
หักหลัง
(hàk-lǎng)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Turkish:
ihanet etmek
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Turkmen:
dönüklik etmek
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Turkmen:
haýynlyk etmek
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Ukrainian:
зра́джувати
(zrádžuvaty)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Ukrainian:
зра́дити
(zrádyty)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Urdu:
دھوکا دینا
(dhokā denā)
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Uzbek:
xiyonat qilmoq
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Uzbek:
xoinlik qilmoq
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Vietnamese:
bội phản
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Vietnamese:
phản bội
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Welsh:
bradu
— to deliver into the hands of an enemy
Albanian:
pre ne bes
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Bulgarian:
изневерявам
(izneverjavam)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Bulgarian:
измамвам
(izmamvam)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Catalan:
trair
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Chinese Mandarin:
背叛
(bèipàn)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Chinese Mandarin:
背棄 /背弃
(bèiqì)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Chinese Mandarin:
辜負 /辜负
(gūfù)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Danish:
forråde
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Danish:
svige
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Dutch:
verraden
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Finnish:
pettää
— to prove faithless or treacherous
French:
trahir
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Old French:
traïr
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Galician:
traizoar
— to prove faithless or treacherous
German:
im Stich lassen
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Gothic:
𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽
(lēwjan)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Greek:
προδίδω
(prodído)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Hebrew:
בָּגַד
(bagád)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Hindi:
धोका देना
(dhokā denā)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Ingrian:
pettää
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Italian:
tradire
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Japanese:
裏切る
(uragiru)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Japanese:
売る
(uru)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Latin:
prōdō
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Māori:
whakamoho
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Norman:
trahi
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Old English:
lǣwan
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Polish:
zdradzić
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Portuguese:
trair
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Romanian:
trăda
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Russian:
предава́ть
(predavátʹ)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Russian:
преда́ть
(predátʹ)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Serbo-Croatian:
ѝздати
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Serbo-Croatian:
ìzdati
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Slovene:
izdati
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Spanish:
traicionar
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Swedish:
förråda
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Swedish:
svika
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Thai:
ทรยศ
(tɔɔ-rá-yót)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Thai:
หักหลัง
(hàk-lǎng)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Turkish:
ihanet etmek
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Ukrainian:
зра́джувати
(zrádžuvaty)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Ukrainian:
зра́дити
(zrádyty)
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Welsh:
bradu
— to prove faithless or treacherous
Bulgarian:
издавам
(izdavam)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Catalan:
trair
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Chinese Mandarin:
違反信任 /违反信任
(wéifǎn xìnrèn)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Chinese Mandarin:
泄露秘密
(xièlù mìmì)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Danish:
forråde
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Dutch:
verraden
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Finnish:
pettää
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Finnish:
kavaltaa
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
French:
trahir
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Old French:
traïr
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Galician:
traizoar
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
German:
verraten
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Hebrew:
בָּגַד
(bagád)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Hindi:
धोखा देना
(dhokhā denā)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Hungarian:
elárul
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Ingrian:
pettää
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Italian:
tradire
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Latin:
prōdō
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Latin:
dēferō
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Malayalam:
ചതിക്കുക
(catikkuka)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Norman:
trahi
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Portuguese:
trair
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Romanian:
trăda
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Russian:
предава́ть
(predavátʹ)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Russian:
преда́ть
(predátʹ)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Russian:
выдава́ть
(vydavátʹ)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Russian:
вы́дать
(výdatʹ)
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Serbo-Croatian:
obelodaniti
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Serbo-Croatian:
odati
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Serbo-Croatian:
ìzdati
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Slovene:
izdati
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Spanish:
delatar
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Swedish:
förråda
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Swedish:
svika
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Turkish:
ihanet etmek
— to violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret
Bulgarian:
разкривам
(razkrivam)
— to disclose or discover
Catalan:
delatar
— to disclose or discover
Chinese Mandarin:
洩露 /泄露
(xièlù)
— to disclose or discover
Chinese Mandarin:
透露
(tòulù)
— to disclose or discover
Chinese Mandarin:
暴露
(bàolù)
— to disclose or discover
Danish:
røbe
— to disclose or discover
Dutch:
verraden
— to disclose or discover
Dutch:
onthullen
— to disclose or discover
Dutch:
verspreken
— to disclose or discover
Finnish:
paljastaa
— to disclose or discover
Finnish:
kavaltaa
— to disclose or discover
German:
verraten
— to disclose or discover
Hungarian:
elárul
— to disclose or discover
Italian:
rivelare
— to disclose or discover
Latin:
dētegō
— to disclose or discover
Latin:
prōdō
— to disclose or discover
Latin:
oleō
— to disclose or discover
Persian:
لو دادن
(low dâdan)
— to disclose or discover
Portuguese:
revelar
— to disclose or discover
Romanian:
descoperi
— to disclose or discover
Romanian:
afla
— to disclose or discover
Russian:
выдава́ть
(vydavátʹ)
— to disclose or discover
Russian:
вы́дать
(výdatʹ)
— to disclose or discover
Serbo-Croatian:
odati
— to disclose or discover
Serbo-Croatian:
pronaći
— to disclose or discover
Serbo-Croatian:
ìzdati
— to disclose or discover
Slovene:
izdati
— to disclose or discover
Spanish:
delatar
— to disclose or discover
Spanish:
demostrar
— to disclose or discover
Turkish:
ele vermek
— to disclose or discover
Catalan:
demostrar
— to show or to indicate
Chinese Mandarin:
顯露 /显露
(xiǎnlù)
— to show or to indicate
Chinese Mandarin:
泄露
(xièlù)
— to show or to indicate
Dutch:
verraden
— to show or to indicate
Finnish:
paljastaa
— to show or to indicate
Finnish:
pettää
— to show or to indicate
German:
verraten
— to show or to indicate
German:
von etwas zeugen
— to show or to indicate
Italian:
rivelare
— to show or to indicate
Japanese:
漏らす
(morasu)
— to show or to indicate
Latin:
mōnstrō dēmōnstrō
— to show or to indicate
Old English:
meldian
— to show or to indicate
Russian:
выдава́ть
(vydavátʹ)
— to show or to indicate
Russian:
вы́дать
(výdatʹ)
— to show or to indicate
Spanish:
demostrar
— to show or to indicate
Spanish:
mostrar
— to show or to indicate
Catalan:
confondre
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Chinese Mandarin:
誤導 /误导
(wùdǎo)
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Finnish:
vietellä
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Finnish:
pettää
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
German:
verleiten
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
German:
vom rechten Weg abbringen
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
German:
irreführen
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Latin:
in errōrem dūcō
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Latin:
dēcipiō
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Malayalam:
കബളിപ്പിക്കുക
(kabaḷippikkuka)
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Romanian:
a induce în eroare
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Romanian:
a îndruma greșit
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Spanish:
confundir
— to mislead, to lead into error or sin
Catalan:
trair
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Chinese Mandarin:
誘騙 /诱骗
(yòupiàn)
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Dutch:
bedriegen
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Finnish:
vietellä
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Finnish:
pettää
— to lead astray, as a maiden
German:
verführen
— to lead astray, as a maiden
German:
sitzenlassen
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Italian:
tradire
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Malayalam:
വഞ്ചിക്കുക
(vañcikkuka)
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Serbo-Croatian:
zalutati
— to lead astray, as a maiden
Serbo-Croatian:
zavesti
— to lead astray, as a maiden
