traitor
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traitor
A person who abuses the trust of another person, a group, or their country and acts disloyally, for example by revealing secrets or defecting to the opposing side.
Er wurde als Verräter beschimpft, nachdem er die Pläne seines Teams an die Konkurrenz verkauft hatte.
He was called a traitor after he sold his team's plans to the competition.
The word is made up of the verb 'verraten' (to betray/reveal) and the ending '-er'. The ending '-er' here refers to a person who performs the action of the verb—that is, someone who betrays.
Wer die geheimen Informationen weitergegeben hat, ist ein Verräter.
Whoever passed on the secret information is a traitor.
'Der Verräter' belongs to the word family of 'verraten' (to betray/reveal). The verb 'verraten' means to reveal a secret or to be disloyal. The noun 'der Verrat' (betrayal) refers to the act itself.
Er hat sein Team verraten und gilt nun als Verräter.
He betrayed his team and is now considered a traitor.
The word is often used with the preposition 'an' (+ dative) to say against whom the betrayal was committed. Typical phrases are 'ein Verräter am eigenen Volk' (a traitor to one's own people) or 'ein Verräter an seinen Freunden' (a traitor to his friends).
In der Geschichte wurde er als Verräter an seinem König dargestellt.
In the story, he was portrayed as a traitor to his king.
rat
Ratte and Verräter can both refer to a person after a breach of trust. Verräter specifically identifies the disloyal act, while Ratte is a strongly derogatory insult for the person’s character or behavior. Use Verräter objectively and Ratte as an insulting judgment.
Weil er das Geheimnis der Gruppe preisgab, galt er als Verräter.
Because he revealed the group’s secret, he was considered a traitor.
Nach dem Verrat nannte der wütende Mann seinen ehemaligen Freund eine Ratte.
After the betrayal, the angry man called his former friend a rat.
