Treacherous Meaning
/ˈtɹɛt͡ʃəɹəs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjExhibiting treachery.
adjDeceitful; inclined to betray.
Sentence Examples
Treacherous fire, bring relief to my torment.
Wet logs make for treacherous footing.
Drive carefully! Those are treacherous roads up there.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The path through the mountains was ____ because of hidden ice and sharp rocks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The icy roads were very ____ this morning, so drivers had to be extremely careful while they were commuting today.
Word Origin & History
From Old French trecheros, tricheros (“deceitful”), equivalent to treacher + -ous. See treacher.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I see the wife misused by her husband, I see the treacherous seducer of young women, / I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love attempted to be hid […]"
— 1855, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass:
"Work on the muskeg resulted in the formation in the first instance, and later in lengths of newly-laid track disappearing without trace into the treacherous bog."
— 1959 March 26, “New Railways in Quebec”, in Railway Magazine, page 202:
"[…] they stood in the region of perpetual snow, amidst the glittering, treacherous glaciers and crevasses, with vast slippery-pathed precipices yawning round."
— 2002, Charles Morris, The San Francisco Calamity:
"There are many treacherous paths leading toward history’s realms of darkness, but when it comes to routes hacked out by imperialist powers in the Congo, we really do seem near darkness’s heart."
— 2009 March 30, Edward Rothstein, “Casting a Sliver of Light on the Heart of Darkness”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Jul 2020:
"It is standard practice for search and rescue authorities to ask other vessels in the area to assist. Usually, this is done. The weather on the night of 31 December was too atrocious, and when at 11pm the Coast Guard asked the crabber Ruff & Reddy to head to the scene, its skipper refused, as a skipper has a right to do if he believes conditions to be too treacherous."
— 2025 October 21, Rose George, “‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2025:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The path through the mountains was ____ because of hidden ice and sharp rocks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The icy roads were very ____ this morning, so drivers had to be extremely careful while they were commuting today.