treason
gb/tɹˈizən/ us/tɹˈizən/
C1
English
~ 5500
Senses
0 senses
Noun
formal
C1
action
1
crime of betraying your country
A very serious crime where a person is not loyal to their own country, for example by trying to remove the government or helping the country’s enemies.
Usage pattern:
treason against [a country / the state]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use ‘treason’ for any small act of disloyalty, but in modern English it usually refers to a very serious act against a country or government. They may also confuse ‘treason’ (the crime) with ‘traitor’ (the person who does it), or confuse the word with ‘treasure’ because they look similar in spelling.
Synonyms
betrayal (More general; not always a crime and can be used for personal relationships, while treason is usually legal and political.)
|
sedition (Refers more to encouraging people to rebel; treason is the broader crime of betraying the state, often including direct action.)
|
treachery (Emotional and moral tone of deep disloyalty; treason is the specific legal offense, especially against a country.)
Antonyms
loyalty (Being faithful and supportive of one’s country or government, the opposite of betraying it.)
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allegiance (A formal or strong loyalty to a country or leader, which treason breaks.)
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patriotism (Strong love and support for one’s country, contrasting with the betrayal involved in treason.)
Collocations
commit treason
|high treason
|treason against the state
|charge [someone] with treason
|trial for treason
|act of treason
Themes
law
|politics
|society
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He was arrested and later executed for treason after passing military secrets to a foreign power.
- The constitution clearly defines treason as waging war against the nation or giving aid to its enemies.
- During the coup attempt, several officers were charged with high treason and faced life imprisonment.
- The leader denied any act of treason, claiming that his talks with the enemy were part of a peace negotiation.
- In times of war, even small acts of cooperation with the invading army can be treated as treason.
Learner examples
- The man went to prison for treason after he helped the enemy army.
- In many countries, treason is the most serious crime.
- She was accused of treason because she tried to remove the government by force.
- The court said his actions were treason against the state.
- They believed he had committed treason by giving secret information to another country.
Noun
literary
C1
action
2
serious betrayal of trust or loyalty
A very serious form of being disloyal to someone or to important ideas, not just to a country.
Usage pattern:
treason against [someone / something]
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that ‘treason’ can be used in a non-legal, figurative way to describe very strong betrayal in personal or moral situations. However, in everyday conversation, people more often use ‘betrayal’ or ‘disloyalty’; using ‘treason’ may sound dramatic or literary.
Synonyms
betrayal (The most general term; ‘treason’ here is stronger and more dramatic, suggesting extreme or shocking betrayal.)
|
disloyalty (Broader and often milder; ‘treason’ suggests a deeper and more serious violation of trust.)
|
perfidy (Formal and literary like this sense of ‘treason’, both suggesting cold, deliberate betrayal.)
Antonyms
faithfulness (Continuing to support and not betray someone or something, the opposite of treason in relationships or beliefs.)
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devotion (Strong, loving loyalty to a person or ideal, which treason violates.)
Collocations
treason against our friendship
|treason against one’s beliefs
|emotional treason
|spiritual treason
|treason against the truth
|treason against one’s principles
Themes
emotions
|ethics
|society
|relationships
|law
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- To her, lying about something so important felt like treason against their friendship.
- He called abandoning the project at the last moment a kind of treason against the team’s hard work.
- Some critics saw the artist’s sudden change in style as treason against his earlier ideals.
- The author describes silence in the face of injustice as moral treason.
- She felt that hiding the truth would be treason against her own values.
Learner examples
- He thought leaving his friends now would be treason against their trust.
- For her, not telling the truth was treason against her own rules.
- The singer said changing his message would be treason against his fans.
- They called his decision treason against everything they had worked for.
- She saw staying quiet as treason against justice.
Grammar
Dictionary form
treason
IPA
GB/tɹˈizən/
US/tɹˈizən/
Syllables & stress
treas - on (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (treas)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: treason
- Plural: treason
Word family
Expressions
high treason
1/hˈaɪ tɹˈizən/
fixed phrase
formal
the most serious kind of treason
A very serious crime of treason, usually against the head of state or the main government.
Examples
- The general was convicted of high treason for planning to assassinate the president.
- Under the old law, high treason could be punished by death.