BETRAY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does betray mean? 

• BETRAY (verb)
  The verb BETRAY has 6 senses:

1. reveal unintentionally

2. deliver to an enemy by treachery

3. disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake

4. be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage

5. give away information about somebody

6. cause someone to believe an untruth

  Familiarity information: BETRAY used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BETRAY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they betray    ... he / she / it betrays   
Past simple: betrayed   
Past participle: betrayed   
-ing form: betraying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Reveal unintentionally

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

betray; bewray

Context example:

Her smile betrayed her true feelings

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Deliver to an enemy by treachery

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

betray; sell

Context example:

The spy betrayed his country

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

cozen; deceive; delude; lead on (be false to; be dishonest with)

Verb group:

sell (give up for a price or reward)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "betray"):

double cross (betray by double-dealing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot betray Sue

Derivation:

betrayal (an act of deliberate betrayal)

betrayer (one who reveals confidential information in return for money)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

betray; fail

Context example:

His children failed him in the crisis

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

betray; cheat; cheat on; cuckold; wander

Context example:

Might her husband be wandering?

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

cozen; deceive; delude; lead on (be false to; be dishonest with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "betray"):

two-time (carry on a romantic relationship with two people at the same time)

fool around; play around (commit adultery)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot betray Sue

Sense 5

Meaning:

Give away information about somebody

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

betray; denounce; give away; grass; rat; shit; shop; snitch; stag; tell on

Context example:

He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "betray"):

sell someone out (give information that compromises others)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

betrayer (one who reveals confidential information in return for money)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Cause someone to believe an untruth

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

betray; deceive; lead astray

Context example:

The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house

Hypernyms (to "betray" is one way to...):

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "betray"):

impersonate; personate; pose (pretend to be someone you are not; sometimes with fraudulent intentions)

bamboozle; hoodwink; lead by the nose; play false; pull the wool over someone's eyes; snow (conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end)

befool; cod; dupe; fool; gull; put on; put one across; put one over; slang; take in (fool or hoax)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

betrayer (a person who says one thing and does another)

 Context examples 

From every side the cries arose, and the dogs betrayed their fear by huddling together and so close to the fire that their hair was scorched by the heat.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

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.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Her bonnet wasn't big enough to hide her face, and she feared he might think the joy it betrayed unmaidenly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

They betray an unfortunate state of mind: they merit severe reproof: they would seem inexcusable, but that it is the duty of man to forgive his fellow even until seventy-and-seven times.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He mopped his forehead dry and glanced about him with a controlled face, though in the eyes there was an expression such as wild animals betray when they fear the trap.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Though she betrayed it by no outward sign, I felt, somehow, that she was greatly perturbed.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I was too cold and too sleepy to be keenly observant, and not sleepy enough to betray my trust so altogether I had a dreary, miserable time.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He was not prone to rashness and precipitate action; and in the bitter hatred between him and Spitz he betrayed no impatience, shunned all offensive acts.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

If, at that time, I had been much with her, I should, in the weakness of my desolation, have betrayed this.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But then it occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that the clothes might betray me.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)