betrayal

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈtreɪəl/ UK /bɪˈtreɪəl/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the act of being disloyal or treacherous to a trust

His friends never forgave the betrayal.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of being disloyal... treachery perfidy disloyalty treasondouble-crossduplicity

Opposites

loyalty fidelity faithfulness

Word family

Related forms betray betrayer traitor

Etymology

From betray + -al; betray from Middle English betrayen, from be- + Old French trair, from Latin trādere ('to hand over').

be- Old English trādere Latin

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Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

# betrayal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bɪˈtreɪəl
**IPA (UK):** bɪˈtreɪəl

## Meanings
1. the act of being disloyal or treacherous to a trust

## Examples
- His friends never forgave the betrayal.

## Synonyms
- treachery
- perfidy
- disloyalty
- treason
- double-cross
- duplicity

## Antonyms
- loyalty
- fidelity
- faithfulness

## Related Forms
- betray
- betrayer
- traitor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: trādere

## Etymology
From betray + -al; betray from Middle English betrayen, from be- + Old French trair, from Latin trādere ('to hand over').

## AI Etymology
Betrayal is from betray + -al; betray from Middle English betrayen, from be- + Old French trair, from Latin trādere ('to hand over'). Important recorded forms include be- (Old English) and trādere (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers the act of being disloyal or treacherous to a trust. The wider family includes related words such as betray, betrayer, and traitor.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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