Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

treacherous

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore T words

guilty of betrayal, or dangerously unstable and deceptive

Word origin: From Old French trichier, to cheat.

In a sentence

Treacherous in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing treacherous in a sentence.

The treacherous adviser sold the king's secrets to his enemies.

The expedition stalled when the once-firm trail turned treacherous under a thin crust of melting ice.

Synonyms
disloyalperfidioustreasonousperilous
Antonyms
loyalfaithfulsafe
Usage & nuance

Using “treacherous” well

Treacherous carries two linked senses: guilty of betrayal, and dangerously unstable or deceptive, as with treacherous footing. It opposes both loyal and safe depending on the context.

Common questions

Questions about “treacherous

Treacherous (adjective) means guilty of betrayal, or dangerously unstable and deceptive
Here is treacherous used in an example sentence: "The treacherous adviser sold the king's secrets to his enemies." Another example: "The expedition stalled when the once-firm trail turned treacherous under a thin crust of melting ice."
Common synonyms for treacherous include disloyal, perfidious, treasonous, perilous.
Antonyms of treacherous include loyal, faithful, safe.
Clusters with disloyal, perfidious, and perilous in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms loyal, faithful, and safe each answer one of the word's two senses.
Yes. Treacherous is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

Learn words the way the GRE tests them.

Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in real sentences. Practise these words inside text completion and sentence equivalence questions.