betrayal

noun

be·​tray·​al bi-ˈtrā(-ə)l 

bē-

plural betrayals

1

: the act of betraying someone or something or the fact of being betrayed : violation of a person's trust or confidence, of a moral standard, etc.

the betrayal of a friend

a betrayal of trust

a betrayal of one's principles

A man who built his entire administration upon demanding unctuous loyalty from his allies now finds himself wounded by their shabby betrayal.

—Jack Hitt

The double life of an informant is a peculiar one, filled at the same time with tedium and betrayal.

—Karen Richardson

Even Jesus recognized that there was something paradoxical about his betrayal by Judas Iscariot—in three of the four canonical Gospels, with a kiss.

—David Gates

2

: revelation of something hidden or secret

a betrayal of one's true feelings

There was never doubt, never a betrayal of indecision.

—Jack London

… she had shrunk with irresistible dread from every course that could tend towards a betrayal of her miserable secret.

—George Eliot

Synonyms of betrayal

• treachery
• treason

Examples of betrayal in a Sentence

the terrible betrayal of having her best friend reveal her confidences to others

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, the episode has little time to dwell on logical lapses because each scene gets its leads closer to an inevitable betrayal one way or another. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026

My guess is that the anchor-outs, or at least some of them, see real estate agents’ commodification of the land as a betrayal of the values of California’s earlier inhabitants and contrary to their whole ethos. — Maggie McGowan, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026

Viewers unfamiliar with Dostoevsky may struggle to determine which women, flirtations, and betrayals belong to history — and which come from his fiction or are the original work of Szumowska and Englert entirely. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026

But the question for Jeffries, of just how much of an example to make out of the betrayal, was immediately complicated by several factors. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing betrayal

• self-betrayal

Rhymes for betrayal

• portrayal