betrayal
part of speech
noun (a betrayal, betrayals; betrayal, uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) Betrayal is breaking someone's trust, for example by telling their secret, lying to them or helping their enemy. tree →
2) A betrayal is one act of this kind. tree →
3) Betrayal of a country is helping its enemies (treason). tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, betrayal is a big turning point: a friend tells a secret or changes sides. In ethics lessons, pupils discuss whether telling an adult about danger is betrayal (it is not; it keeps people safe). In Bible lessons, Judas's betrayal of Jesus is a famous story. Phrases: «a sense of betrayal», «an act of betrayal», «feel betrayed».
examples
- Telling everyone her secret was a betrayal. tree →
- She felt a deep sense of betrayal when her friend laughed at her. tree →
- In the Bible, Judas's betrayal of Jesus happened for thirty silver coins. tree →
- The spy's betrayal cost many lives. tree →
- It wasn't a betrayal to tell the teacher that Sam was being hurt. tree →
- The film is about friendship and betrayal. tree →
note
Countable for one act («two betrayals»), uncountable for the idea. Verb: betray (betrayed, betraying); person: traitor. Trap: telling to keep someone safe is not betrayal; spreading gossip to hurt is.
In the corpora
- Refusing to join a fight is not betrayal; a true friend does not ask you to get hurt or hurt others.
- Breaking a promise like that is not betrayal; it is help.
- Telling a grown-up about a friend in danger is help, not betrayal, even if the friend is angry at first.
- Sometimes a family cannot keep a pet, and finding it a good new home is a kind choice, not a betrayal.
- Privacy matters even in families; reading someone else's messages without asking is a betrayal.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «betrayal» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.