What does treason mean?

Definitions for treason
ˈtri zəntrea·son

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word treason.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. treason, high treason, lese majestynoun

    a crime that undermines the offender's government

  2. treason, subversiveness, traitorousnessnoun

    disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior

  3. treachery, betrayal, treason, perfidynoun

    an act of deliberate betrayal

Wiktionary

  1. treasonnoun

    The crime of betraying one's government.

  2. treasonnoun

    Providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

  3. Etymology: From tresoun, treison, from treson, from traïson, from traditionem, accusative of traditio, from trado, from.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. TREASONnoun

    An offence committed against the dignity and majesty of the commonwealth: it is divided into high treason and petit treason. High treason is an offence against the security of the commonwealth, or of the king’s majesty, whether by imagination, word, or deed; as to compass or imagine treason, or the death of the prince, or the queen consort, or his son and heir-apparent; or to deflower the king’s wife, or his eldest daughter unmarried, or his eldest son’s wife; or levy war against the king in his realm, or to adhere to his enemies by aiding them; or to counterfeit the king’s great seal, privy seal, or money; or knowingly to bring false money into this realm counterfeited like the money of England, and to utter the same; or to kill the king’s chancellor, treasurer, justice of the one bench, or of the other; justices in Eyre, justices of assize, justices of oyer and terminer, when in their place and doing their duty; or forging the king’s seal manual, or privy signet; or diminishing or impairing the current money: and, in such treason, a man forfeits his lands and goods to the king: and it is called treason paramount. Petit treason is when a servant kills his master, a wife her husband; secular or religious kills his prelate: this treason gives forfeiture to every lord within his own fee: both treasons are capital. John Cowell

    Etymology: trahison, French.

    Man disobeying,
    Disloyal breaks his fealty, and sins
    Against the high supremacy of heaven:
    To expiate his treason hath nought left. John Milton.

    He made the overture of thy treasons to us. William Shakespeare.

    Athaliah cried, treason, treason. 2 Kings xi. 14.

ChatGPT

  1. treason

    Treason is the act of betraying one's own country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the government or by aiding or supporting its enemies during war. This is considered one of the highest crimes in many jurisdictions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Treasonnoun

    the offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance, or of betraying the state into the hands of a foreign power; disloyalty; treachery

  2. Treasonnoun

    loosely, the betrayal of any trust or confidence; treachery; perfidy

Wikidata

  1. Treason

    In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife or that of a master by his servant or slave. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a lesser superior was petty treason. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor. Oran's Dictionary of the Law defines treason as "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aiding or involved by such an endeavor. Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group members making the charge. See, for example, race traitor, often used by White supremacists and of people in inter-racial relationships.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Treason

    trē′zn, n. betraying of the government or an attempt to overthrow it: treachery; disloyalty.—adj. Trea′sonable, pertaining to, consisting of, or involving treason.—n. Trea′sonableness.—adv. Trea′sonably.—adj. Trea′sonous.—Treason felony, the crime of desiring to depose the sovereign, intimidate parliament, stir up a foreign invasion, &c.—declared by statute in 1848.—Constructive treason, anything which may be interpreted as equivalent to actual treason by leading naturally to it; High treason, offences against the state; Misprision of treason, knowledge of the principal crime and concealment thereof; Petty treason, the murder of a husband by a wife, a master by a servant, &c. [O. Fr. traïson (Fr. trahison)—trahir—L. tradĕre, to betray.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. treason

    Violation of the allegiance owed to one

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. treason

    A general appellation to denote not only offenses against the king and government, but also that accumulation of guilt which arises whenever a superior reposes confidence in a subject or inferior, between whom and himself there subsists a natural, a civil, or even a spiritual relation; and the inferior so abuses that confidence, so forgets the obligations of duty, subjection, and allegiance, as to destroy the life of any such superior or lord. It is, according to English law, a general name, in short, for treachery against the sovereign or liege lord. High treason (the crimen læsæ majestatis of the Romans) is an offense committed against the security of the king or kingdom, whether by imagination, word, or deed. In the United States, treason is confined to the actual levying of war against the United States; or an adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.

Matched Categories

Anagrams for treason »

  1. nor'-east

  2. rotanes

  3. senator

  4. atoners

  5. rosetan

  6. noreast

  7. seatron

How to pronounce treason?

How to say treason in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of treason in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of treason in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of treason in a Sentence

  1. Donald Trump:

    His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber. He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States. I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud Treason.

  2. Donald Trump acted improperly:

    I think what he did is a long way from treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors. I don't think it's the kind of inappropriate action that the framers would expect the Senate to substitute its judgment for the people in picking a president.

  3. Jenny Cudd:

    All we need is one public hanging, and then people will start acting right -- kind of like it would be useful if we still had the firing squad for the death penalty, we shall see if there will be a public hanging in our future because it is still considered a valid form of death for treason.

  4. President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday:

    We don't have a road plan in front of us. Those with guns in their hands and those who support them will pay the price of treason.

  5. Hassan Abbas:

    Even if court orders for release, the government has prepared other cases to charge him under a terrorism act and for treason, the bigger challenge for Islamabad will be pressure from the U.S.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

treason#10000#24186#100000

Translations for treason

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"treason." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/treason>.

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