Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

turncoat

/ˈtɝn.koʊt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.25 in modern English

Syllables: turn-coat
IPA: /ˈtɝn.koʊt/

10

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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

verb

To act as a turncoat; to betray

Example Sentences

"But some will cry Turncoat, and rip up old stories, / How I always pretended to be for the tories: […]"
"Federal prosecutors say that in addition to turncoat witnesses, they are armed with secretly recorded conversations made in the Camden, N.J., office of Mr. Stanfa's lawyer, Salvatore Avena, who has also been indicted on racketeering charges."
"The opposition members chanted slogans against the turncoats and termed the speaker’s attitude as partial. To them the speaker was promoting 'lotacracy' in the province, prompting them to chant 'go Speaker go', and 'lota speaker'."

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.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtɝn.koʊt/
British English: /ˈtəːn.kəʊt/

Inflected Forms

turncoats (plural) turn-coat (alternative) turn coat (alternative) turncoats (present, singular) turncoating (participle, present) turncoated (participle, past) turncoated (past)

Derived Forms

turncoatism

Phrases

turncoat witness

Synonyms

apostate defector renegade balimbing butterfly changeling runagate traitor transfuge turncloak turncoat turntippet

Questions

How do you pronounce turncoat?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɝn.koʊt/.
What does turncoat mean?: A traitor; one who turns against a previous affiliation or allegiance.
Where does turncoat come from?: 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.

How to pronounce turncoat

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “turncoat”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɝn.koʊt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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