traitor

CEFRB2

/ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person who betrays their country, group, or friends.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    One who betrays any confidence or trust.

Examples

  • The traitor betrayed his country to the enemy.

  • We have a traitor among us.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈtʰɹeɪɾɚ]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Someone who takes arms and levies war against their country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering their country.

  2. Someone who violates an allegiance and betrays their country; someone guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers their country to an enemy, or yields up any fort or place entrusted to their defense, or surrenders an army or body of troops to the enemy, unless when vanquished.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To act the traitor toward; to betray; to deceive.

More examples

In context

  • The soldiers turned traitor.

  • After World War I, the communists and Jews were accused to be traitors by the German right wing (the "stab-in-the-back myth"), ultimately culminating in their persecution and massacre.

  • Yes, that was Vice President Spiro Agnew commemorating the "loyalty" of literal traitors. But what can you really expect from a man whose name rearranged spells "grow a penis."

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The army arrested the blank who sold secret plans to the enemy.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. Doublet of traditor.