How to use betray in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Betray means to deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly. Example: “An officer betrayed the city.”

Examples of betray by meaning

verbTo deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or...

An officer betrayed the city.
He betrayed his own sister to the secret police.

verbTo prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive.

to betray a person or a cause
Quresh betrayed Sunil to marry Nuzhat.
My eyes have been betraying me since I turned sixty.

verbTo disclose or indicate, for example something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally.

Though he had lived in England for many years, a faint accent betrayed his Swedish origin.

More sentences with betray

I feel so bad for betraying him!From the entry bad
I helped him out, just for him to betray me.From the entry just
It did not register with me at the time that he'd end up betraying me, making off with all my savings.From the entry register
I helped him out only for him to betray me.From the entry only
I duked you in, and you're gonna betray them!From the entry duke in
Basquiat's epic-size, experimental canvases betray his radical determination to blackwash not solely history but art history.2019, Celeste-Marie Bernier, Stick to the Skin, page 102. From the entry blackwash
A movement in the umbrageous undergrowth betrays the presence of something leaping from the ferns.2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 52. From the entry umbrageous
With their earnestness and clumsy naiveté they betray the scandalous truth of his posturing.2017, Patrick Turner, Hip Hop Versus Rap: The Politics of Droppin' Knowledge, page 129. From the entry backpacker
The choice of such non-entities in ostensibly important positions betrays their servile role.2016 July, Gerard Minuhin, Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil: Recognize the True Enemy and Join to Fight Him, 2nd edition, Uckfield…. From the entry non-entity
Moviewise he's never more than a nerfherder with ideas above his station stealing Arwen and betraying Elrond.2016 October 30, Siri Cruise, “Re: Ye olde burbs & rural mythology”, in alt.politics.liberalism (Usenet), retrieved 28 Apr 2017…. From the entry moviewise
Sarkozy gave a defiant speech, going on the offensive and betraying no hint of having been beaten.2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in the Guardian. From the entry overture
Those who claim that they've been reading Shakespeare in Old English betray their ignorance: they haven't.2008, Stephen J. Harris, Bryon Lee Grigsby, Misconceptions About the Middle Ages, page 177. From the entry Old English
In Indonesia one can find a wide range of kroepoek (the 'oe' spelling betrays the Dutch influence).2008, Sarah Ainley, Around the world in 450 recipes, page 116. From the entry kroepoek
In the airport, holiday lovers kiss, mouth forevers, the usual argot betrays you.2007, Ruth O'Callaghan, Where acid has etched. From the entry forever
If someone trusts you, what is lost if you betray that trust?2005, Julian Baggini, The Pig that Wants to be Eaten: And 99 other thought experiments, №91: “No one gets hurt”, page 271 (Granta; →ISBN…. From the entry tryst
Would wisps of dragonbreath betray Ythra’s position before they came face to face?2002 October, Edward M. Lerner, “Survival Instinct”, in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, volume CXXII, number 10, page 42, column 2. From the entry dragonbreath
Some scientifically minded sleuths hoped that the optograms of murder victims might betray their killers!2001, Stanley Finger, Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function, page 82. From the entry optogram
His crime is not that he filches money from the safe but that he betrays a trust.1980, David Mark Chalmers, The Muchrake Years, Krieger Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 152. From the entry grafter
The chic and intellectually impressive ones remain pristine, betraying that they have remained unfingered since purchase.1975 September, New York Magazine, volume 8, number 39. From the entry unfingered
But that's where said citizen would betray his innocence of legislative namesmanship.1963, United States. Congress, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the Congress, page A5589. From the entry namesmanship
She was the empath who would betray empaths if she got the chance.1957, Hans Stefan Santesson, editor, Fantastic Universe. From the entry empath
Well, she must be plain with him, round with him, while she must not betray her child.1925, Stanley John Weyman, “XXXVI Home”, in Queen's Folly. From the entry round
Tyrion knows it’s a death sentence from Daenerys to betray her in this way, but he no longer cares.2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club…. From the entry death sentence
Their grown-up troubles form an odd angle with the purportedly innocent feel-goodery, and ultimately betray the film's cross purposes.2018 December 12, Charles Bramesco, “A Spoonful of Nostalgia Helps the Calculated Mary Poppins Returns Go Down”, in The A.V. Club…. From the entry feel-goodery
Only his chicken-skin neck betrays his true age.2014, Jennifer Mortimer, chapter 5, in Trilemma, Oceanview Publishing, page 23. From the entry bleached blond
That question is part of an extended conversation at the Last Supper after Judas the Iscariot has left to betray Jesus.2011, John M[ichael] Newman, “Judas Thomas”, in Quest for the Kingdom: The Secret Teachings of Jesus in the Light of Yogic Mysticism…. From the entry Judas the Iscariot
It also sometimes betrays a kind of fear or dislike—a kind of, for lack of a better term, Blackophobia.2008, S Adam, Africa in Japanese Diplomatic Thought: An African Perspective, link. From the entry Blackophobia
Betraying not a sign of the general mayhem he had just created, he answered a Dorothy Dixer about television violence.2002, Don Watson, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM, page 273. From the entry dorothy dixer
But there are deceitful maras who pretend to be friendly, yet will betray the person who trusts them.2002, Sarvananda Bluestone, The World Dream Book, page 73. From the entry mara
The unfriend betrays me, ignores me, denies me, breaks me down; the unfriend is against and tries to devour my personhood.1999, Kees Waaijman, John Vriend, The mystical space of Carmel. From the entry unfriend
In a voice betraying absolute conviction and undoubtability, Justice S.A.1988, African Concord, volume 2, numbers 14-26, page 27. From the entry undoubtability
After you get finished betraying all your friends, how long do you think it will be before you're all alone?1983 December 17, “GDMFSOB (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 22, page 17. From the entry louse
He betrays his amateurishness in a hundred ways.1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter V. From the entry amateurishness
Even Yate, who saw it happen, betrays an unsoldierly sigh.1937, Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana, London: Macmillan, Part 3, p. 98. From the entry unsoldierly

Meaning of betray

verb To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.
verb To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive.
verb To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known.

Full definition of betray

Questions about betray in a sentence

How do you use betray in a sentence?: Betray is used as a verb. For example: “An officer betrayed the city.”
What is a short sentence with betray?: “An officer betrayed the city.”
What does betray mean?: Betray means to deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly.

Adapted from Wiktionary: betray (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use betray in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/betray. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.