MEANING
1. To harm someone by acting against their trust or loyalty.
2. To reveal something that someone was trying to hide.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- betray a friend
- betray a confidence
On the page
She refused to betray the source who had trusted her.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- betray
- Past tense
- betrayed
- Past participle
- betrayed
- Present participle
- betraying
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- betray
- Present continuous
- am/is/are betraying
- Present perfect
- have/has betrayed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been betraying
- Past
- betrayed
- Past continuous
- was/were betraying
- Past perfect
- had betrayed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been betraying
- Future
- will betray
- Future continuous
- will be betraying
- Future perfect
- will have betrayed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been betraying
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: betray; betrays; betrayed; betrayed; betraying Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: betrays.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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