betray

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈtɹeɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4113

Meanings

1

verb
To harm someone who trusts you by being disloyal or untrue to them.

He betrayed his friends by telling their secrets to the enemy.
2

verb
To show a feeling or fact without meaning to.

Her trembling voice betrayed her nervousness.
3

verb
To give away secret information about someone or something.

A careless remark betrayed their hiding place.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to harm someone who trusts... sell deceive

2 verb · to show a feeling or fact... bewray

3 verb · to give away secret... shop

More assfuckburndouble-crossfalse knife quisle renegadeswiketraitorize turncoat

Word family

Forms betrayedbetrayingbetrays

Derived forms betrayablebetrayalbetrayeebetrayerbetraymentrebetrayunbetray

Related forms betrayer deceive

Etymology

From Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). further etymology information 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 b…

betrayen Middle English be- Old English *bi- Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-Germanic *h₁epi Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# betray

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈtɹeɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 4113

## Meanings
1. To harm someone who trusts you by being disloyal or untrue to them.
2. To show a feeling or fact without meaning to.
3. To give away secret information about someone or something.

## Examples
- He betrayed his friends by telling their secrets to the enemy.
- Her trembling voice betrayed her nervousness.
- A careless remark betrayed their hiding place.

## Synonyms
- assfuck
- burn
- double-cross
- false
- knife
- quisle
- renegade
- sell
- swike
- traitorize
- turncoat

## Derived Forms
- betrayable
- betrayal
- betrayee
- betrayer
- betrayment
- rebetray
- unbetray

## Related Forms
- betrayer
- deceive

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: betrayen
- Root: be-
- Root: *bi-
- Root: *bi
- Root: *h₁epi

## Etymology
From Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). further etymology information 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 b…

## AI Etymology
Betray comes from Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). Further back 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.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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