betrayer

noun

1
as in informer
a person who provides information about another's wrongdoing the arrested drug dealer vowed that he would get his revenge on his betrayer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance the betrayer of Anne Frank's family in Amsterdam has never been identified for certain

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of betrayer The inferno that follows, as the betrayer’s dragon sets fire to both armies and then Tumbleton itself, will be rendered with both practical flames and CGI. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 Then go ahead and depict the country’s prime minister as the betrayer of Christ. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026 Lesch plays the savior’s anguished betrayer not as an intellectual equal who fiercely debates him and loses all patience with the movement. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026 Judas, the betrayer of Jesus Christ, was believed to be the 13th Apostle to join the table at the Last Supper. — Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for betrayer
  1. informer
  2. traitor
  3. informant
  4. canary
  5. rat
Noun
  • One of State Security’s main goals, as well as a central source of its strength, is turning civilians into informers.
    — Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 19 May 2026
  • And so every regime invests in having student informers.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of informer
Noun
  • Aside from his surprise heartthrob status, the British comedian has been vocal about feeling anxious as a traitor.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Abby became suspicious of Kuehl during a private conversation about possible traitors in the group.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of traitor
Noun
  • Sguros was listed as the informant on West’s death certificate, the affidavit said, and several months after the initial death investigation, Sguros was legally authorized to release West’s remains to a cremation service business.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Investigators say Langford drove away and sold the cocaine to a confidential informant and returned to the playground and field with the money.
    — Jennifer Borrasso, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of informant
Noun
  • For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Astronauts bring them on journeys to keep an eye on whether or not the water filtration systems are working, much the way miners used to take canaries down to the coal mines to check for poisonous gas leaks.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of canary
Noun
  • In 1894 French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin isolated the plague bacterium and connected rat infestations to the disease.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • That money will fund a rat model of Jaxson’s gene mutation, which is expected to be studied at UT Southwestern next year.
    — Ciara McCarthy October 22, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of rat

Browse Nearby Words

betrayed
betrayer
betrayers
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Cite this Entry

“Betrayer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/betrayer. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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