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betray - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'betray' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Betray [ 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.
- 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.
- To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
- To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
- To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to lead into error or sin.
- To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon.
- To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at first, or would otherwise be concealed.

Meaning of 'betray' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . betray [ v]
Meaning (1):
- give away information about somebody
Example in sentence:
  • He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam
Meaning (2):
- reveal unintentionally
Example in sentence:
  • Her smile betrayed her true feelings
Meaning (3):
- disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
Example in sentence:
  • His children failed him in the crisis;
  • His sense of smell failed him this time;
  • His strength finally failed him
Meaning (4):
- deliver to an enemy by treachery
Example in sentence:
  • Judas sold Jesus;
  • The spy betrayed his country
Meaning (5):
- be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage
Example in sentence:
  • Might her husband be wandering?;
  • She cheats on her husband
Meaning (6):
- cause someone to believe an untruth
Example in sentence:
  • The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house

Nearby Words:

bet betaine betake betaken betaking betaught bete bete noire beteela beteem

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