ENGLISH
REFERENCE

judas

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈdʒudəs// ju·das Archaic

n. a person who acts like a friend but then betrays you. It comes from a story in the Bible about a man who gave his friend to his enemies.

n. a person who betrays a friend, colleague, or cause; a traitor. Derived from the biblical figure Judas Iscariot.


SIMPLE

He felt like a judas after telling his friend's secret to the boss.

CONTEXTUAL

The political party struggled to recover after a high-ranking member acted as a judas by leaking private documents to the press.

COMPLEX

In the high-stakes world of corporate espionage, one must always be wary of a potential judas within the inner circle who might sell proprietary data to a competitor.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English Iudas, from Latin Iudas, from Ancient Greek Ἰούδας (Ioúdas), from Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá). Doublet of Judah.

Usage

Often used with the indefinite article ('a judas') or as a direct label for a traitor.

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