Betray
[bɪ'treɪ] or [bɪ'tre]
Definition
(verb.) reveal unintentionally; 'Her smile betrayed her true feelings'.
(verb.) deliver to an enemy by treachery; 'Judas sold Jesus'; 'The spy betrayed his country'.
Inputed by Agnes--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
(v. t.) To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
(v. t.) To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin.
(v. t.) To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
(v. t.) To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.
Typist: Nora
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Deliver up (by breach of trust), give up treacherously.[2]. Violate the confidence of, disclose the secrets of, deceive by treachery.[3]. Discover, divulge, reveal, tell, blab, show, make known.[4]. Mislead, lure, insnare, entrap, inveigle.
Checker: Otis
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Deceive, delude, dupe, circumvent, ensnare, dishonor, manifest, indicate,reveal
ANT:Protect, preserve, guard, conserve, foster, cherish, fence, conceal, cover,suppress
Checked by Elmer
Definition
v.t. to give up treacherously: to disclose in breach of trust: to let go basely or weakly: to deceive the innocent and trustful to seduce: to discover or show: to show signs of.—ns. Betray′al act of betraying; Betray′er a traitor the seducer of a trustful girl.
Inputed by Cherie
Examples
- I was determined not to open my lips, lest my voice should betray me to Berkeley Craven. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- It is only in the conviction that I may trust you never to betray me, that I can proceed. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Then, mind what I told you,' said the matron: 'and be careful to say as little as you can, or you'll betray us at once. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Little Eyes says to himself, 'I'll find out where he has placed that girl, and I'll betray his secret because it's dear to him. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- If I betray weakness, you will know how to excuse me. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- So the Princess said, I never will betray you. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- She would not betray her trust, I suppose, without bribery and corruption, for she really did know where her friend was to be found. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- I took off my silk gown to begin with, because the slightest noise from it on that still night might have betrayed me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It occurred to us, after a while, that if we wanted to get home before daylight betrayed us, we had better be moving. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- His look and manner unmistakably betrayed that he knew who I was, and that he wanted to irritate me into quarrelling with him. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- When I ventured to raise my head again, my eyes and my husband's eyes met, and I knew, by his look, that my face had betrayed me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It was at such moments that for an instant he ceased to be a reasoning machine, and betrayed his human love for admiration and applause. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- The innocent suffers; but she whom I thought amiable and good has not betrayed the trust I reposed in her, and I am consoled. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- A vain concession; his demeanour quickly betrayed his secret to the quick eyes of the ex-queen. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Her eyes moved uneasily from object to object in the room, betraying plainly that she suspected what my purpose was in coming to speak to her. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- No implicated man or woman took untimely courage, or made a self-betraying step. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- His face betrayed his thoughts—perhaps without betraying him, for it might have been according to its instructions so to do. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- The poor weak words, which have failed to describe Miss Fairlie, have succeeded in betraying the sensations she awakened in me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- She had not confided in me; I could not demand an explanation from Raymond without the hazard of betraying what was perhaps her most treasured secret. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- He could not explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- She doubted whether she had not transgressed the duty of woman by woman, in betraying her suspicions of Jane Fairfax's feelings to Frank Churchill. Jane Austen. Emma.
- And, indeed, Veneering is much relieved in mind to find that Podsnap betrays no jealousy of Twemlow's elevation. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Your tongue betrays you; you now speak wrong. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Her face is veiled, and still she sufficiently betrays herself to make more than one of those who pass her look round sharply. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Not a rustle of the housekeeper's dress, not a gesture, not a word betrays her. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Aristotle, in his _Politics_, betrays very clearly the practical outcome of this difference. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Ay, Miss Shirley, there's a gleg light i' your een sometimes which betrays you. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It betrays the fatal exasperation of a man who has lost his faith in the power of truth because _his_ truth has not prevailed. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Checker: Roderick