renegade

1 of 3

noun

ren·​e·​gade ˈre-ni-ˌgād 

1

: a deserter from one faith, cause, or allegiance to another

2

: an individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior

renegade

2 of 3

verb

renegaded; renegading

intransitive verb

: to become a renegade

renegade

3 of 3

adjective

1

: having deserted a faith, cause, or religion for a hostile one

2

: having rejected tradition : unconventional

Synonyms

Noun

• apostate
• defector
• deserter
• recreant

Examples of renegade in a Sentence

Noun

The group was full of free spirits and renegades who challenged every assumption of what art should be.

She regaled him with stories about pirates and renegades on the high seas.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Still, a new report in a U.K. news outlet suggests that Harry and his American wife Meghan, renegade members of the British royal family who’ve been living in California, have decided to try and regain a foothold in Europe by buying a home in Portugal. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024

The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as a renegade who is intent on censoring political speech. —David Biller and Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Verb

Do Not Disturb follows Karegeya’s life from African herd boy to BMW-driving government spy to renegade refugee who fell prey to the boredom, loneliness, and conspiracies of exile. —Claude Gatebuke, The New York Review of Books, 10 June 2021

Adjective

Winner of the Jury Prize and a collective Best Actress Award at Cannes, renegade auteur and HIFF alum Jacques Audiard’s (RUST AND BONE, DHEEPAN) latest odyssey is an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024

The speech came just six months after a white mob had laid waste to Greenwood, violently rebuking calls for social equality, political rights and the end of renegade lynch law. —Victor Luckerson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Spanish renegado, from Medieval Latin renegatus, from past participle of renegare to deny, from Latin re- + negare to deny — more at negate

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1611, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1636, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

renegade

1 of 2 noun

ren·​e·​gade ˈren-i-ˌgād 

1

: a person who deserts a faith, cause, or party

2

: a person who rejects lawful or acceptable behavior

renegade

2 of 2 adjective

1

: having deserted a faith, cause, or party

2

: having rejected tradition : unconventional