betray Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb reveal unintentionally
    bewray.
    • Her smile betrayed her true feelings
  2. verb deliver to an enemy by treachery
    sell.
    • Judas sold Jesus
    • The spy betrayed his country
  3. verb disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
    fail.
    • His sense of smell failed him this time
    • His strength finally failed him
    • His children failed him in the crisis
  4. verb be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
    cheat; cuckold; cheat on; wander.
    • She cheats on her husband
    • Might her husband be wandering?
  5. verb give away information about somebody
    shop; give away; denounce; tell on; stag; rat; snitch; grass; shit.
    • He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam
  6. verb cause someone to believe an untruth
    lead astray; deceive.
    • The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house

WordNet

Be*tray" transitive verb
Etymology
OE. betraien, bitraien; pref. be- + OF. traïr to bertray, F. trahir, fr. L. tradere. See Traitor.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Betrayed present participle & verbal noun Betraying
Definitions
  1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city.
    Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. Matt. xvii. 22.
  2. 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.
    But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me. Johnson.
  3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
    Willing to serve or betray any government for hire. Macaulay.
  4. To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
    Be swift to hear, but cautious of your tongue, lest you betray your ignorance. T. Watts.
  5. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin.
    Genius . . . often betrays itself into great errors. T. Watts.
  6. To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
  7. To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.
    All the names in the country betray great antiquity. Bryant.

Webster 1913