Turncoat

//ˈtɝn.koʊt// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A traitor; one who turns against a previous affiliation or allegiance.

    "But some will cry Turncoat, and rip up old stories, / How I always pretended to be for the tories: […]"

  2. 2
    a disloyal person who betrays or deserts their cause or religion or political party or friend etc. wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To act as a turncoat; to betray

Synonyms

All synonyms
apostateapostatedeserterrenegadetraitoramerican revolutionary war

Example

More examples

"Meddle in your own matters, you turncoat."

Etymology

A compound of turn + coat, reportedly derived from the sometime military practice of wearing uniform coats that were lined in material of a contrasting color, and which could be worn inside out to present a different appearance.

Related phrases

turncoat witnessturn against

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.