Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Treason |
TreasonNoun1. A crime that undermines the offender's government. 2. Disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior. 3. An act of deliberate betrayal. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "treason" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Law | An offence against the state and national security in which a person carries out an act with the aim, through the use of violence, of amending the constitution of the Confederation or a canton, deposing the constitutionally appointed state authorities or rendering them unable to exercise their powers, or severing an area of Swiss territory from the Confederation or a part of cantonal territory from a canton. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The English Statute of Treasons (1350) distinguished high treason from petty treason. Petty treason was the murder of one's lawful superior, such as when a wife killed her husband, or a servant his master. High treason covered acts that constituted a serious threat to the stability or continuity of the state, including attempts to kill the king, to counterfeit coins or to wage war against the kingdom. An 18th century law defines four basic types of high treason:
To avoid the abuses of the English law, treason was specifically defined in the United States Constitution. Article Three defines treason as only levying war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to its enemies, and requires the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or a confession in open court for conviction. In the United States Code the penalty ranges from "shall suffer death" to "shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
In the United States, the accusation of treason has at times been levelled at those who dissented against the government's foreign policy, especially during military actions.
In the history of the United States there have been fewer than 40 federal prosecutions for treason and even fewer convictions. Several men were convicted of treason in connection with the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion but were pardoned by George Washington. The most famous treason trial, that of Aaron Burr in 1807, resulted in acquittal. Politically motivated attempts to convict opponents of the Jeffersonian Embargo Acts and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 all failed.
In the 20th century, treason has become largely a wartime phenomenon, and the treason cases of World Wars I and II were of minor significance. Most states have provisions in their constitutions or statutes similar to those in the U.S. Constitution. There have been only two successful prosecutions for treason on the state level, that of Thomas Dorr in Rhode Island and that of John Brown in Virginia.
UK Traitors
US Traitors
Other Traitors
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Treason."
Synonyms: TreasonSynonyms: betrayal (n), high treason (n), lese majesty (n), perfidy (n), subversiveness (n), traitorousness (n), treachery (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disobedience | Mutinousness; Adjective: mutineering; sedition, treason; high treason, petty treason, misprision of treason; premunire; lese majeste; violation of law; defection, secession. |
Improbity | Breach of promise, breach of trust, breach of faith; prodition, disloyalty, treason, high treason; apostasy; (tergiversation); nonobservance. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Treason |
| English words defined with "treason": Alfred Dreyfus, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, Approvement ♦ bill of attainder, Boethius ♦ Constructive crimes, Corruption of blood ♦ Dreyfus ♦ grey ♦ Lady Jane Grey ♦ Perduellion, Petty officer, Prodition ♦ secret police ♦ To bring home, traitor, traitorous, treasonable, treasonist, treasonous. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "treason": Alarum Bell ♦ Baga de Secretis, Burgundian ♦ Cain-coloured Beard, COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AGENT, Crimen læsæ Majestatis ♦ Dying Sayings ♦ Friday and the United States ♦ Jonas ♦ Kings have Long Hands ♦ Lazy Lawrence of Lubberland ♦ Mazeppa, Mirrors ♦ SANDLOTTER, Still Waters Run Deep ♦ Wharton ♦ Yellow-boy. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You speak treason! (Doctor Who; writing credit: Basil Caplan; Martin Defalco) Chicolini, you are charged with high treason, and if found guilty, you will be shot. (Duck Soup; writing credit: Bert Kalmar ; Harry Ruby) Where men who have known treachery and treason can still light torches in the caves of honor. (The Cheap Detective; writing credit: Neil Simon) Why, you speak treason! (The Adventures of Robin Hood; writing credit: Norman Reilly Raine ; Seton I. Miller) Anne, to love you is treason against France. (The Man in the Iron Mask; writing credit: Randall Wallace) | |
Lyrics | All her friends they've been tried for treason (To the Moon and Back; performing artist: Savage Garden) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Flight From Treason (1959) Passport to Treason (1955) High Treason (1951) Guilty of Treason (1949) Treason (1933) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Jeff. D hung on a "sour apple tree" or treason made odious. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Treason!!! / designed & etch'd by Rd. Newton. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Douglas William Jerrold | Treason is like diamonds; there is nothing to be made by the small trader. |
Dr. Samuel Johnson | Pension: in England, understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country. |
Edmund Burke | I know many have been taught to think that moderation in a case like this, is a sort of treason. |
James Thomson | Ingratitude is treason to mankind. |
Julius Caesar | I love treason but hate a traitor. |
Samuel Daniel | Princes in this case do hate the traitor, though they love the treason. |
Sir Edward Coke | Corporations cannot commit treason, or be outlawed or excommunicated, for they have no souls. |
| They [corporations] cannot commit treason, nor be outlawed nor excommunicate, for they have no souls. | |
Thomas Dekker | This principle is old, but true as fate, Kings may love treason, but the traitor hate. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
US Constitution | 1791 | No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. (reference) |
Marbury v. Madison | 1803 | No person, says the constitution, "shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court." (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Between domestic and master, treason begins with curiosity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Civil Liberties | Indonesia | Manuputty faces maximum penalties of 7 years for hostile intentions and 4 years for treason. (references) |
Burma | At least some staff members were threatened with treason, an act punishable by life imprisonment. (references) | |
Hong Kong | In the interim, preexisting provisions in the Crimes Ordinance dealing with treason and sedition continue to apply. (references) | |
Economic History | South Africa | Nelson Mandela and many other anti-apartheid leaders were convicted and imprisoned on charges of treason. (references) |
Republic of Congo | Under a congressional resolution, Yhomby-Opango was stripped of all powers, rank, and possessions and placed under arrest to await trial for high treason. (references) | |
South Korea | In August 1996, ex-Presidents Chun and Roh were convicted on corruption and treason charges but were pardoned by President Kim Young Sam in December 1997. (references) | |
Human Rights | Peru | Military courts may hold treason trials in secret. (references) |
Seychelles | A jury is used in cases involving murder or treason. (references) | |
Fiji | Bail is granted freely, but there is no provision for bail in cases of treason. (references) | |
Political Economy | Sudan | After approximately 6 weeks of detention, the Government charged the NDA representatives with a number of capital crimes, including treason, espionage, and sedition. (references) |
Sudan | The SPLA often cooperates with ICRC and allows regular visits to prisoners; the SPLA continues to prohibit the ICRC to visit prisoners accused of treason or other crimes. (references) | |
Pakistan | In April 2000, the Sindh Court found former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif guilty of treason and other charges; however, the court imposed a life sentence instead of the death penalty sought by the Musharraf Government. (references) | |
Political Rights | Peru | Treason carries up to a life sentence. (references) |
Fiji | Seventeen persons were charged with treason or other crimes, but such charges later were dropped against 8 soldiers and 4 other persons. (references) | |
Fiji | In addition to individuals charged with treason, the police have investigated prominent citizens who allegedly were involved in the takeover of Parliament. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | SANDLOTTER, n. A vertebrate mammal holding the political views of Denis Kearney, a notorious demagogue of San Francisco, whose audiences gathered in the open spaces (sandlots) of the town. True to the traditions of his species, this leader of the proletariat was finally bought off by his law-and-order enemies, living prosperously silent and dying impenitently rich. But before his treason he imposed upon California a constitution that was a confection of sin in a diction of solecisms. The similarity between the words "sandlotter" and "sansculotte" is problematically significant, but indubitably suggestive. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
James Madison | 1809-1817 | Nor is it less so that penal enactments should be provided for cases of corrupt and perfidious intercourse with the enemy, not amounting to treason nor yet embraced by any statutory provisions. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Treason" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 96.75% of the time. "Treason" is used about 338 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 96.75% | 327 | 15,903 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.25% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Total | 100.00% | 338 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "treason": high treason ♦ misprision of treason ♦ petit treason ♦ treason felony. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "treason": treason-until. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "treason"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | tradhti (betrayal, defection, disloyalty, double cross, falsity, perfidy, recreancy, tergiversation, treachery, untruth). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | خيانة (betrayal, cheating, deception, disloyalty, double cross, faithlessness, infidelity, perfidy, sell out, treachery, unfaithfulness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | измяна (apostasy, betrayal, double dealing, judas kiss, perfidy, treachery, turnabout). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 叛國罪 (the crime of treason). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | zrada (betrayal, lese majesty, perfidy, sellout, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | hoogverraad (felony, high treason). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | پیمان شکنی (Perfidy), غدر (Treachery), خیانت (Betrayal, Guile, Perfidy, Rat, Treachery, Untruth(Ful)), بی وفاءی (Treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | maanpetos (felony, high treason), maankavallus, maan kavallus. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | haute trahison (high treason, treason felony). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | verrat (betrayal, perfidiousness, perfidy, treacheries, treachery, treasons). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | προδοσία (betrayal, double cross, lese majesty, sellout, squeal, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ב'י"" (betrayal, disloyalty, giveaway, perfidy, sell out, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | hitszegés (breach of trust, perfidy), árulás (betrayal, delation, foul play, give away, perfidy, policy of scuttle, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | penghianatan (betrayal), berhianat (betray, deceit). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | tradimento (betrayal, treachery), alto tradimento (lese majesty). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 謀叛 (coup d'etat, military take-over, rebellion), 反逆罪 , 反逆 (insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, treachery), 悪逆無" (atrocity, treachery), 悪逆 (atrocity, treachery), 叛逆 (insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | あくぎゃくむどう (atrocity, heinous, treacherous, treachery), あくぎゃく (atrocity, treachery), むほ" (coup d'etat, military take-over, rebellion), は"ぎゃくざい, は"ぎゃく (insurrection, mutiny, rebellion, treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | traitoorys (treachery). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | easontray traição (betrayal, double-dealing, monkey business, perfidy, recreancy, treachery), deslealdade (betrayal, disaffection, dishonesty, disloyalty, perfidy, recreancy, treachery, untruth). (various references) trãdare (betrayal, betraying, breach of faith, perfidy, punic faith, treachery), vânzare (offtake, sale, treachery). (various references) измена (apostasy, betrayal, perfidy, recreancy, sellout). (various references) veleizdaja (high treason, lese majesty), izdaja (betrayal, sellout, stab, treachery). (various references) traición (betrayal, sellout, treachery). (various references) förräderi (betrayal, perfidy, sell out, treachery). (various references) vatan hainliği, hainlik (betrayal, dastardliness, disloyalty, foul play, insidiousness, judas kiss, perfidiousness, perfidy, recreancy, treachery, ungratefulness, villainy). (various references) haяynlyk. (various references) особливо тяжкий злочин, зрада (apostasy, betrayal, collaboration, perfidy, recreancy, sell, sellout). (various references) sự mưu phản, sự l m phản. (various references) bradwriaeth (treachery), brad (betrayal, plot). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | proditio. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | 1 Kings Chapter 16, Verse 20 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai ta loipa twn logwn zambri kai taV sunayeiV autou aV sunhyen ouk idou tauta gegrammena en bibliw logwn twn hmerwn twn basilewn israhl |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Reliqua autem sermonum Zamri et insidiarum eius et tyrannidis nonne haec scripta sunt in libro verborum dierum regum Israhel |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | The remnaunt forsothe of the wordis of Zamry, and of the spies of him, and of the tyraundise, whethir thes ben not writyn in the book of the wordis of the dais of the kyngys of Yrael? |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the secret design he made, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel? |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | 1 Kings Chapter 16, Verse 20 |
| Cebuano | Karon ang nahabilin nga mga buhat ni Zimri, ug ang iyang pagbudhi nga iyang gihimo, wala ba sila mahasulat sa mga Cronicas sa mga hari sa Israel? |
| Croatian | Ostala povijest Zimrijeva i njegova urota koju je skovao, zar sve to nije zapisano u knjizi Ljetopisa kraljeva izraelskih? |
| Danish | Hvad der ellers er at fortælle om Zimri og den Sammensværgelse, han stiftede, står jo optegnet i Israels Kongers Krønike. |
| Dutch | Het overige nu der geschiedenissen van Zimri, en zijn verbintenis, die hij gemaakt heeft, zijn die niet geschreven in het boek der kronieken der koningen van Israel? |
| Finnish | Mitä muuta on kerrottavaa Simristä ja salaliitosta, jonka hän teki, se on kirjoitettuna Israelin kuningasten aikakirjassa. |
| French | Le reste des actions de Zimri, et la conspiration qu`il forma, cela n`est-il pas écrit dans le livre des Chroniques des rois d`Israël? |
| German | Was aber mehr von Simri zu sagen ist und wie er seinen Bund machte, siehe, das ist geschrieben in der Chronik der Könige Israels. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Kisah lainnya mengenai Zimri, termasuk komplotan pengkhianatan yang direncanakannya, sudah dicatat di dalam buku Sejarah Raja-raja Israel. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Adapun barang yang lagi tinggal dari pada segala kisah Zimri dan mufakat yang telah diadakannya, bukankah ia itu tersebut dalan kitab tawarikh raja-raja Israel? |
| Italian | Le altre gesta di Zimri e la congiura da lui organizzata sono descritte nel libro delle Cronache dei re di Israele. |
| Korean | 시 므 리 의 남 은 행 위 와 그 모 반 한 일 이 이 스 라 엘 왕 역 대 지 략 에 기 록 되 지 아 니 하 였 느 냐 |
| Maori | Na, ko era atu meatanga a Timiri me tana he i whakatupu ai ia, kahore ianei i tuhituhia ki te pukapuka o nga meatanga o nga ra o nga kingi o Iharaira? |
| Norwegian | Hvad som ellers er å fortelle om Simri og om den sammensvergelse han fikk i stand, det er opskrevet i Israels kongers krønike. |
| Portuguese | Quanto ao restante dos atos de Zinri, e conspiração que fez, porventura não estão escritos no livro das crônicas dos reis de Israel? |
| Rumanian | Celelalte fapte ale lui Zimri, wi uneltirea pe care a fqcut -o el nu sknt scrise oare kn cartea Cronicilor kmpqrayilor lui Israel? |
| Swedish | Vad nu mer är att säga om Simri och om den sammansvärjning som han anstiftade, det finnes upptecknat i Israels konungars krönika. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "treason": treasonable, treasonably, treasonous, treasons. (additional references) | |
| |
"Treason" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: teason, Tleson, Torfason, trasn, treaon, trease, treasen, treazon, Treeton, treison, Tremadoc, Tremaston, Trematon, Tresgoz, treson, Tresseno, triazine, Troedsson, Troezen. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "treason" (pronounced trē"zun) |
| 5 | -r ē" z u n | reason. |
| 4 | -ē" z u n | season. |
| 3 | -z u n | arisen, artisan, bipartisan, brazen, chosen, citizen, cousin, crimson, denizen, dozen, emblazon, frozen, Hausen, Hazan, horizon, imprison, Mizen, nonpartisan, partisan, poison, prison, risen, rosin, thousand, unfrozen, wizen. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: atoners, senator. | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-n-o-r-s-t" | |
-1 letter: antres, arseno, astern, atoner, atones, nestor, noters, oaters, orates, ornate, reason, senora, sterna, stoner, tenors, tensor, toners, tronas, trones. | |
-2 letters: aeons, antes, antre, arose, arson, aster, atone, earns, etnas, nares, nates, nears, neats, nerts, noter, notes, oaten, oater, onset, orate, rants, rates, ratos, rents, roans, roast, roset, rotas, rotes, saner, santo, senor. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-n-o-r-s-t" | |
+1 letter: ancestor, antrorse, assentor, baronets, earstone, enactors, estragon, monstera, negators, notaries, onstream, operants, outearns, pronates, proteans, resonant, resonate, seafront, senators, senorita, starnose, tonearms, treasons. | |
+2 letters: absorbent, accentors, adsorbent, aerations, aeronauts, ancestors, anchorets, anestrous, anointers, anoretics, anterooms, assentors, assertion, atropines, attorneys, baritones, barytones, betatrons, bevatrons, carotenes, coparents, corantoes, coronates, courantes, courtesan, creations, daneworts, dragonets, earstones, emanators, estragons, frontages, marlstone, mestranol, monastery, monsteras, narrowest, nectarous, negatrons, nonskater, northeast, notarizes, observant, obtainers, orangiest, ordinates, orientals, ornaments, outlearns, outrances, outranges, oysterman, patentors, patroness, patronise, personate, portances, ratooners, reactions, reanoints, relations, renovates, reobtains, resonants, resonated, resonates, resonator, seafronts, senhorita, senoritas, serotinal, serration, snakeroot, starnoses, stationer, stoneware, taborines, teardowns, tetragons, tornadoes, transpose, wantoners. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Historic | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Bible Trace 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
