traitor

noun

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trai·tor | \ ˈtrā-tər

Definition of traitor

1 : one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty

2 : one who commits treason

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Examples of traitor in a Sentence

She has been called a traitor to the liberal party's cause. He was a traitor who betrayed his country by selling military secrets to the enemy.

Recent Examples on the Web Chinese state media has long branded Lai, who became a leading critic of the Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, a traitor and an enemy of the state. — Washington Post, "Hong Kong media publisher Jimmy Lai is charged under national security law," 11 Dec. 2020 Garza was outraged to be cast as an ethnic traitor. — Marcela Valdes, New York Times, "The Fight to Win Latino Voters for the G.O.P.," 24 Nov. 2020 Charles basically explodes at the man who has been a surrogate father to him, accusing him of being a traitor who cares more about the desires of the family than of Charles’s own heart. — Lauren Morgan, EW.com, "The Crown binge recap: Welcome to the Diana Years! (Episodes 1-4)," 18 Nov. 2020 The black left has been calling Justice Thomas a race traitor for decades. — Jason L. Riley, WSJ, "Behind the Elite Hatred of Clarence Thomas," 17 Nov. 2020 Students boycotted his classes and circulated petitions calling him a traitor to the Palestinian cause. — Washington Post, "Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator who shaped Arab-Israeli peace agreements, dies at 65," 10 Nov. 2020 Edward Snowden is a traitor who is currently under the care, custody, and control of Russian security services. — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, "In praise of traditional conventions, &c.," 20 Aug. 2020 With the traitor in our midst unmasked and the guardian revealed, the portal to the library began to open. — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, "Escape Rooms in an At-Home Era? Here’s the Key," 5 Nov. 2020 What set the crowd into a frenzy was when Tischler, inches from Kornbluh’s face, called the reporter a moser, a Hebrew word for a traitor—a Jew who informs on a Jew. — Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, "“We Don’t Protest”: Borough Park’s Mask-Burning Demonstrators," 1 Nov. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'traitor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

16 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Traitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traitor. Accessed 27 Dec. 2020.

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More Definitions for traitor

traitor

noun

English Language Learners Definition of traitor

: a person who is not loyal to his or her own country, friends, etc. : a person who betrays a country or group of people by helping or supporting an enemy

See the full definition for traitor in the English Language Learners Dictionary

traitor

noun

trai·tor | \ ˈtrā-tər