BEWRAY

betray, bewray

(verb) reveal unintentionally; “Her smile betrayed her true feelings”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

bewray (third-person singular simple present bewrays, present participle bewraying, simple past and past participle bewrayed)

(transitive, archaic) To accuse; malign; speak evil of.

(transitive) To reveal, divulge, or make (something) known; disclose.

(transitive) To reveal or disclose and show the presence or true character of, especially if unintentionally or incidentally, or else if perfidiously, prejudicially, or to one's discredit.

(transitive) To expose or rat out (someone).

(transitive, obsolete) To expose to harm.

(transitive, obsolete) To expose (a deception).

Usage notes

This word is often glossed as being a synonym of "betray", but this is only valid for the senses of "betray" that involve revealing information.

Synonyms

• (to reveal): expose; see also reveal or divulge

• (to expose or rat out): inform, grass up, snitch; see also rat out

Etymology 2

Verb

bewray (third-person singular simple present bewrays, present participle bewraying, simple past and past participle bewrayed)

(obsolete) To soil or befoul; to beray.

Source: Wiktionary


Be*wray", v. t.

Definition: To soil. See Beray.

Be*wray", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bewrayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bewraying.] Etym: [OE. bewraien, biwreyen; pref. be- + AS. wr to accuse, betray; akin to OS. wr, OHG. ruog, G. rügen, Icel. rægja, Goth. wr to accuse.]

Definition: To expose; to reveal; to disclose; to betray. [Obs. or Archaic] The murder being once done, he is in less fear, and in more hope that the deed shall not be bewrayed or known. Robynson (More's Utopia. ) Thy speech bewrayeth thee. Matt. xxvi. 73.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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