treachery

From Middle English trecherie, from Old French tricherie, trecherie, from tricher, trichier (“to cheat”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɛt͡ʃəɹi/, /ˈtɹɛt͡ʃɹi/, /ˈt͡ʃɹɛt͡ʃəɹi/, /ˈt͡ʃɹɛt͡ʃɹi/

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treachery (countable and uncountable, plural treacheries)

1. Deliberate, often calculated, disregard for trust or faith.
   • 2002 March 1, Joan Dupont, “MOVIE GUIDE : 8 Femmes”, in The New York Times‎:

     Suddenly, in the midst of high-camp treachery and sleuthery, each character does a star turn, breaking out in song.

2. The act of violating the confidence of another, usually for personal gain.
3. Treason.
4. (countable) An act or instance of treachery.
   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 78:

     These submerged treacheries left an atmosphere. Even two such practised obliterators of their species as Bradly and Podson could not fail to note that each was secreting a certain reservation of opinion on the other.

• Punic faith
• treacherousness

• treacher
• treacherous

• trick
• trickster
• tricky
• trickery

• “treachery”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “treachery”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “treachery”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “treachery”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.