betray

betray
    v 1: reveal unintentionally; "Her smile betrayed her true
         feelings" [syn: {betray}, {bewray}]
    2: deliver to an enemy by treachery; "Judas sold Jesus"; "The
       spy betrayed his country" [syn: {betray}, {sell}]
    3: disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His
       sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally
       failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis" [syn:
       {fail}, {betray}]
    4: be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage; "She
       cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?"
       [syn: {cheat on}, {cheat}, {cuckold}, {betray}, {wander}]
    5: give away information about somebody; "He told on his
       classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: {denounce},
       {tell on}, {betray}, {give away}, {rat}, {grass}, {shit},
       {shop}, {snitch}, {stag}]
    6: cause someone to believe an untruth; "The insurance company
       deceived me when they told me they were covering my house"
       [syn: {deceive}, {betray}, {lead astray}] [ant: {undeceive}]
    

Betray \Be*tray"\ (b[-e]*tr[=a]"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Betrayed} (-tr[=a]d"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Betraying}.] [OE.
   betraien, bitraien; pref. be- + OF. tra["i]r to betray, F.
   trahir, fr. L. tradere. See {Traitor}.]
   1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or
      fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or
      faithlessly; as, an officer betrayed the city.
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            Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be
            betrayed into the hands of men.       --Matt. xvii.
                                                  22.
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   2. To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one
      who trusts; to be false to; to deceive; as, to betray a
      person or a cause.
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            But when I rise, I shall find my legs betraying me.
                                                  --Johnson.
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   3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or
      that which one is bound in honor not to make known.
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            Willing to serve or betray any government for hire.
                                                  --Macaulay.
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   4. To disclose or discover, as something which prudence would
      conceal; to reveal unintentionally.
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            Be swift to hear, but cautious of your tongue, lest
            you betray your ignorance.            --T. Watts.
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   5. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen to
      lead into error or sin.
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            Genius . . . often betrays itself into great errors.
                                                  --T. Watts.
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   6. To lead astray, as a maiden; to seduce (as under promise
      of marriage) and then abandon.
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   7. To show or to indicate; -- said of what is not obvious at
      first, or would otherwise be concealed.
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            All the names in the country betray great antiquity.
                                                  --Bryant.
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132 Moby Thesaurus words for "betray":
      abuse, apostatize, babble, bamboozle, be indiscreet, be unguarded,
      bear witness against, beguile, betoken, betray a confidence, blab,
      blabber, blow the whistle, bluff, blurt, blurt out, bolt,
      break away, break faith, cajole, cheat on, circumvent, collaborate,
      conjure, cross, debauch, deceive, defect, defile, deflower, delude,
      demonstrate, desert, despoil, diddle, disclose, discover, divulge,
      double-cross, dupe, ensnare, entrap, evidence, evince, expose,
      fail, fink, fool, force, forestall, gammon, get around, give away,
      gull, hoax, hocus-pocus, hoodwink, hornswaggle, humbug, impart,
      indicate, inform, inform against, inform on, juggle, lay bare,
      lead astray, leak, let down, let drop, let fall, let slip,
      manifest, misguide, mislead, mock, narc, outmaneuver, outreach,
      outsmart, outwit, overreach, peach, pigeon, play one false,
      pull out, put something over, rape, rat, ravage, ravish, renegade,
      reveal, reveal a secret, ruin, run out on, secede, seduce, sell,
      sell out, shop, show, sing, snare, snitch, snitch on, snow, soil,
      spill, spill the beans, split, squeal, stool, string along, sully,
      take in, talk, tattle, tattle on, tell, tell on, tell secrets,
      tell tales, testify against, trap, trick, turn in, turn informer,
      two-time, uncover, unveil, violate