Synonyms for rat

noun

  1. A rodent

    mouse, muskrat, vermin; see pest 1, rodent.

    Varieties of rats include: white, black, brown, house, laboratory, longtailed, water, swamp, desert, marsh, tree, giant, field, bamboo, cotton, kangaroo, jerboa, river, pack, big-eared, short-eared, red-nosed.

  2. *A deserter or betrayer

    informer, turncoat, fink*; see deserter, traitor.

See rat in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II


noun
  1. (Informal)

    One who betrays:

    betrayer, double-crosser, Judas, traitor. See trust
  2. (Informal)

    One who gives incriminating information about others:

    informant, informer, tattler, tattletale. (Informal) tipster. (Slang) fink, snitch, snitcher, squealer, stoolie, stool pigeon. See knowledge, law
  3. (Informal)

    A person who has defected:

    apostate, defector, deserter, recreant, renegade, runagate, tergiversator, turncoat. See approach
verb
  1. (Slang)

    To abandon one's cause or party usually to join another:

    apostatize, defect, desert3, renegade, tergiversate, turn. Idioms: change sides, turn one's coat. See approach, trust
  2. (Slang)

    To be treacherous to.

    Also used with on: betray, double-cross. (Slang) sell out. Idiom: sell down the river . See trust
  3. (Slang)

    To give incriminating information about others, especially to the authorities:

    inform, talk, tattle, tip3 (off). (Informal) fink. (Slang) sing, snitch, squeal, stool. Idiom: blow the whistle. See knowledge, law

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