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

• backstabbing
• business
• disloyalty
• double cross
• faithlessness
• falseness
• falsity
• infidelity
• perfidy
• sellout
• treachery
• treason
• two-timing
• unfaithfulness

Examples of betrayal in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Show business donors dumped their own candidate—who complained bitterly of betrayal by the elite—only to flock, within hours of Biden’s resignation, to Harris, his heir. —Michael Cieply, Deadline, 27 July 2024

Collaborating with the Chinese piano prodigy Lang Lang, Desplat delivers a flowing body of music that captures the violence of betrayal, the beauty of working through it, and the beguiling waltz of two people moving together through time. —Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024

Respondents rated governmental responses to climate change negatively and reported greater feelings of betrayal than of reassurance. —Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2024

The risk of betrayal remained significant and ever-present. —TIME, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing betrayal

• self-betrayal