traitor
Plural: traitors
Noun
- One who betrays a trust, country, or another person.
- someone who betrays his country by committing treason
- a person who says one thing and does another
- 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.
- Someone who takes arms and levies war against their country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering their country.
- One who betrays any confidence or trust.
Verb
- To act the traitor toward; to betray; to deceive.
Adj
- Traitorous.
Examples
- 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.
- Playing a high-scoring word for your opponent is like being a TRAITOR to your own Scrabble strategy.
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
betrayer, double-crosser, double-dealer, treasonist, two-timer, Benedict Arnold, Judas, fink, quisling, snake, snake in the grass
Scrabble Score: 7
traitor: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordtraitor: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
traitor: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary