How to Use defection in a Sentence

defection

noun
  • To prevent defections, cruise passengers weren't allowed to travel with their entire families.
    Melissa Yeager, azcentral, 24 Jan. 2020
  • McConnell claims that the dearth of Democratic defections proves the Trump case is a meritless partisan crusade.
    Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 17 Jan. 2020
  • Susan Collins of Maine became the first Republican defection of the day, and the amendment was killed, 52-48.
    NBC News, 23 Jan. 2020
  • One of them is Chris Ahn, who Kim called on to help with a high-profile defection.
    Seyward Darby, Longreads, 25 Nov. 2020
  • But the margin for error is small — just one defection in the Senate, and the whole thing falls apart.
    Ryan Cooper, The Week, 24 June 2021
  • Have the stakes for last year’s 11 win Dolphins team been raised because of the free agent defections?
    Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
  • Late defections give this late-running colt a ticket to the Big Show.
    Melissa Hoppert, New York Times, 5 May 2023
  • The same applies on the other side of the ball with the defection of Randy Gregory to Denver.
    Dallas News, 24 May 2022
  • The departure of the Ducks and Huskies could spell the end of the Pac-12 since further defections are almost assured.
    Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
  • Baseball became king in a city still irate about the defection of the NFL’s Chargers.
    Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2021
  • Democrats control only 50 votes, and a Manchin defection could have sunk the bill.
    Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner, 5 Mar. 2021
  • His defection from the gang life came at a violent cost.
    Lynnell Hancock, The New Republic, 23 Nov. 2021
  • One is that [the West is] working overtime to entice a defection.
    David Remnick, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2022
  • The arrival of the new tour and the defection of PGA Tour stars were major disruptions in what has been a stable and even staid sport.
    New York Times, 16 June 2022
  • But among those who do not, Mr. Trump loses 31% of them to Biden, a higher defection rate than the other two states.
    Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 25 Oct. 2020
  • The first half of the 2010s saw more bad press with the release of Wright’s book and Gibney’s doc, as well as the high-profile defection of Leah Remini.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2023
  • After Brooks Koepka did an about-face in the span of one week in June, no one should be surprised by any defection.
    Doug Ferguson, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2022
  • North Korea has yet to comment publicly on the news of Jo's defection.
    Yoonjung Seo, Jake Kwon and Julia Hollingsworth, CNN, 8 Oct. 2020
  • There have been ax killings, U.S. bomber fly-bys, and desperate defections along the border.
    Foster Klug, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 July 2023
  • The low defection rate may be a factor in AT&T’s decision.
    Scott Moritz, Fortune, 3 May 2022
  • Skinner now moves into the No. 21 spot on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard and needs one defection to make the race.
    Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, 23 Apr. 2023
  • The defection no one understood was that of Andriy Koshelev.
    James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023
  • That’s the coalition that came undone by the defection of a single member in July.
    Sanya Mansoor, Time, 29 Oct. 2022
  • The defection of a single Democrat would derail the process, given the 50-50 Senate.
    Andrew Duehren, WSJ, 25 June 2021
  • Well, he's lost back-to-back votes on big issues because of defections from his own members.
    USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
  • Still, his defection sent some shockwaves through our state.
    oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2022
  • The lone defection on one of the articles wasn't nearly enough to change the trial's outcome, which was never in much doubt.
    Fin Gomez, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Hernandez’s defection from Cuba to the U.S. and the major leagues.
    Christian Red and Teri Thompson, USA TODAY, 17 June 2020
  • But even a handful of Democratic defections could matter.
    Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2024
  • Biden, hoping to hold off more defections, joined two virtual meetings Friday with members of the Hispanic and Asia-Pacific congressional caucuses.
    Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defection.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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