traitorous

adjective

ˈtrā-tə-rəs How to pronounce traitorous (audio)
Definition of traitorousnext
as in false
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something when our coach took a job at a rival college, a few traitorous players went right along with him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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How is the word traitorous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of traitorous are disloyal, faithless, false, perfidious, and treacherous. While all these words mean "untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance," traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

Where would disloyal be a reasonable alternative to traitorous?

The words disloyal and traitorous can be used in similar contexts, but disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When could faithless be used to replace traitorous?

The words faithless and traitorous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

When is it sensible to use false instead of traitorous?

While in some cases nearly identical to traitorous, false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

How do perfidious and faithless relate to one another, in the sense of traitorous?

Perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

In what contexts can treacherous take the place of traitorous?

Although the words treacherous and traitorous have much in common, treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of traitorous The blame for this terrifying scenario, McCarthy declared, rested with traitorous federal employees, who had sold their country out and had to be purged from its service. —Made By History, TIME, 9 Feb. 2025 Guinevere, usually relegated to the thankless role of traitorous wife, acts here as Arthur’s beloved confidante. —Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024 And somewhere between them on the war/peace continuum sit the men on Rhaenyra’s borderline traitorous council. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 30 June 2024 Simultaneously, Hal is on a call with President Rayburn to brief him on Penn's traitorous schemes. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for traitorous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for traitorous
  1. false
  2. treacherous
  3. unreliable
  4. disloyal
  5. perfidious
  6. faithless
  7. unfaithful
  8. untrue
Adjective
  • The decision to deploy Dembele as a false nine for a 3-1 home win over Lyon in mid-December proved the spark for a stupendous run of goal-scoring form in which the France international racked up 27 goals in only 22 appearances.
    — Tom Williams, New York Times, 30 May 2025
  • His career was on a steady rise until a series of accusations and investigations in the mid-2000s — including tax evasion, fraud and making false statements — landed him in prison.
    — Rachel Raposas, People.com, 30 May 2025
Definition of false
Adjective
  • Hickey made three trips back and forth in the treacherous water to save the boaters one by one.
    — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 25 May 2025
  • Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall When heavy rain pours, the risk of flooding and treacherous roads rises.
    — Southern California Weather Report, Oc Register, 24 May 2025
Definition of treacherous
Adjective
  • The cooling system in her second-story apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico, had always been unreliable.
    — Ignacio Calderon, USA Today, 21 May 2025
  • This showed that changes in the truck's speed produced turbulence in the liquid helium, making measurements of its presence unreliable.
    — John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2025
Definition of unreliable
Adjective
  • The restructuring comes after Trump in April fired multiple senior NSC officials flagged by right-wing activist Laura Loomer as being disloyal to Trump during a White House visit.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 25 May 2025
  • Loyalty-first governance Trump has intensified his efforts to reshape the government in his image, purging officials considered disloyal and politicizing civil service and national security roles.
    — Mark K. Updegrove, Time, 29 Apr. 2025
Definition of disloyal
Adjective
  • Jake Gyllenhaal is his foil as the perfidious Iago, who goads Othello into unreasoning jealousy with lies about his beloved Desdemona (Molly Osborne).
    — New York Times, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Since then, Putin has sought instead to rally the public to the defense of a motherland besieged by the perfidious and cunning West.
    — Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of perfidious
Adjective
  • In 2016, a record number of faithless votes were cast.
    — Robert Alexander and Anna Dawley, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro are both quite good as part of a team that’s tasked with stealing a secret document, setting the stage for a drama involving gangsters, faithless lovers, and white-collar crooks.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025
Definition of faithless
Adjective
  • Donald was repeatedly unfaithful and belittled his wife’s artistic side.
    — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 18 May 2025
  • Already, reviews are raving about Lawrence’s performance as a woman who experiences postpartum depression and develops psychosis, opposite Robert Pattinson as her unfaithful husband.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 18 May 2025
Definition of unfaithful
Adjective
  • Both Lewis and Johnson have said that the story is untrue.
    — Clare Malone, New Yorker, 12 May 2025
  • But a representative for Henry Taylor, the artist who collaborated with Pharrell Williams on Lisa's look, told Vulture that the speculation is wholly untrue.
    — EW.com, EW.com, 7 May 2025
Definition of untrue

Browse Nearby Words

traitor
traitorous
traitors
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Cite this Entry

“Traitorous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/traitorous. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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