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delatar

to denounce

verb deh-lah-TAHR Rare
Communication Speech

Also means

to betray

Usage Note

Delatar means to inform on or expose someone, typically to authorities, and carries connotations of betrayal. The agent noun delator/delatora (informer, snitch) is pejorative. It also has an impersonal figurative use: su nerviosismo lo delataba ('his nervousness gave him away'), where the subject is a tell-tale sign rather than a person. This reflexive-adjacent use with an inanimate subject is very common and elegant.

Examples

"Su acento lo delató como extranjero."

Natural Translation

His accent gave him away as a foreigner.

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