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 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 Assassinations first target Republicans deemed traitorous. —Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024 But seeing the speed with which Homelander zaps a hole in one traitorous employee’s head scares her into staying. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 13 June 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
  • In June of 2023, police approached her residence after receiving a false tip about child abuse.
    — Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Looking down into the pit is not a powerful moment — looking up at this teenager that is desperate to get out of the wilderness and kill this false prophet in Lottie is powerful.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025
Definition of false
Adjective
  • Their stories are full of danger: treacherous rivers, unforgiving terrain, and the constant threat of violence and exploitation.
    — Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
  • But in between lies a tense and treacherous journey…In Wolof and French with English subtitles.
    — Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2025
Definition of treacherous
Adjective
  • There are several advanced monitoring components: • Outlier Detection: Flags anomalous predictions that may be unreliable for production use, particularly important given the noisy nature of real-world data.
    — Neel Sendas, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • To be sure, these predictions are notoriously unreliable, but the fact remains that Wall Street, which cheered Trump’s election, is losing faith.
    — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2025
Definition of unreliable
Adjective
  • Trump didn't say why Haugh was pushed out, but one of Trump's most controversial outside supporters, Laura Loomer, took credit for the move, posting on X, quote, NSA Director Timothy Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
  • The dismissals took place after Loomer told Trump the officials were disloyal, CNN reported.
    — Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Definition of disloyal
Adjective
  • The result is a cacophonous temper tantrum, a vacuous and perfidious advertisement for military recruitment.
    — Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 28 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Definition of perfidious
Adjective
  • 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
  • Once lost, now found, Ms. Brady offered the closing prayer as the smell of meatloaf promised lunch for the faithful and faithless alike.
    — Moriah Ratner, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Definition of faithless
Adjective
  • The play, which was co-produced by Burruss and her longtime husband Todd Tucker, is a tragedy about a commander who is manipulated into thinking his wife is unfaithful.
    — Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 27 Mar. 2025
  • The Shakespearian plot revolves around Othello as a military commander who is convinced that his wife has been unfaithful by his ensign, Iago.
    — Lisa Respers France, CNN, 24 Mar. 2025
Definition of unfaithful
Adjective
  • The website reported that Howard has also posted an Instagram Story suggesting the story was untrue.
    — Natasha Dye, People.com, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Prince Andrew has also said Giuffre’s allegations are untrue.
    — Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 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 16 Apr. 2025.

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