TREASON • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Treason

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/trˈizən/ Listen

noun

Treason n.

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. "The treason of the murthering in the bed." Note: In monarchies, the killing of the sovereign, or an attempt to take his life, is treason. In England, to imagine or compass the death of the king, or of the queen consort, or of the heir apparent to the crown, is high treason, as are many other offenses created by statute. In the United States, treason is confined to the actual levying of war against the United States, or to an adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.

Loosely, the betrayal of any trust or confidence; treachery; perfidy. "If he be false, she shall his treason see."

Petit treason. See under Petit.

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Etymology of 'Treason'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Treason" Quotes from Famous Books

... nature should produce Without sweat or endeavour: treason, felony, Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine, 155 Would I not have; but nature should bring forth, Of its own kind, all foison, all abundance, ...

— The Tempest - The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] • William Shakespeare

... the alarum-bell hath rung, And the warder's voice hath treason sung; The echoes to the falconet's roar, Chime swiftly to the dashing oar. Let town, and hall, and battlements gleam, We steer by the light of the tapers' beam; For Scotland and Mary, on with speed, Now, now is the time, and ...

— The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volumes I-VI. - The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century • Various

... quick wave of guilt swept through him. Her Majesty, after all, might be reading his mind from Yucca Flats, where she had returned the previous night, right at that moment. He felt as if he had committed high, middle and low treason all in one great big package, not to mention Jack and the ...

— Occasion for Disaster • Gordon Randall Garrett

... the minds of those in authority, party was identified with faction, and faction was held to be synonymous with treason, the position of the Republicans was precarious. War with France they bitterly opposed, but were powerless to prevent. The path of opposition was made all the more difficult by the well-known attitude of conspicuous ...

— Union and Democracy • Allen Johnson

... paid over their several campaign assessments—a preliminary formality which Mr. O'Meagher enforces with strict impartiality. The amount of each assessment depends entirely upon Mr. O'Meagher's sense of the fitness of things. To dispute Mr. O'Meagher's sense in this particular is looked upon as treason and rebellion. In the case of the Hon. Thraxton Wimples, the intended candidate for the Supreme Court, the assessment ...

— Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York • Lemuel Ely Quigg

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