SAT OwlQuestion bank / Words in Context
The following text is from an 1894 novel by Edmund Harrow. Miss Lydgate has just received a letter.
Miss Lydgate read the letter through without a word and folded it neatly into her pocket. She returned to her embroidery and asked her sister about the weather. Only her hands betrayed her: the needle, which had moved so steadily all morning, now trembled, and twice she had to unpick a stitch.
As used in the text, what does the word "betrayed" most nearly mean?
deceived
revealed
abandoned
endangered
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Miss Lydgate hides her reaction, but her trembling hands show that the letter has upset her. Here "betrayed" means exposed or revealed what she was trying to hide.
Choice A reflects the common meaning of "betray" (being disloyal or deceiving), but her hands did not deceive her; they gave away her feelings.
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