trair

Trair is a Portuguese verb meaning to betray, to act disloyally or to violate someone’s trust. It is used for betraying people, such as a friend, partner, or family member, as well as for broader breaches of faith, like betraying a principle, a cause, or a nation. In romantic contexts it can also mean to be unfaithful. The related noun forms include traidor (traitor) and traição (betrayal).

Etymology: The verb traces to Latin tradere, meaning “to hand over” or “to entrust,” and entered the Romance languages with the sense of handing over loyalty or trust. Through the development of Old French and later Portuguese, the form trair emerged and acquired its current sense of betrayal in modern Portuguese.

Conjugation and usage: Trair is irregular in several tenses. In the present indicative you may encounter forms such as eu traio and ele trai, reflecting the root variation typical of some -ir verbs. The past tense (pretérito perfeito simples) commonly appears as eu trai, você traiu, ele traiu, nós traímos, eles traíram. Common phrases include trair a confiança (to betray someone’s trust) and trair o parceiro (to cheat on a partner). The verb also yields the related noun traição (betrayal) and the agent noun traidor/traidora (traitor).

See also: traição, traidor, traídorismo (less common). Further usage notes can be found in standard Portuguese dictionaries, which provide full conjugation tables and nuance for formal vs. informal contexts.