1
as in apostasy
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2
as in desertion
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Recent Examples of defection
New York is nothing more than a connecting city on his defection route.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
Republicans can afford no more than one GOP defection on any party-line vote, assuming all members are present and voting, and absences can change that margin.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 19 Feb. 2026
The defection is another blow to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost the last election in April and even his own seat in Parliament, but has since rejoined the House of Commons.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Republicans, however, have a razor-thin majority and can only afford one defection during floor votes.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for defection
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
Republicans can afford no more than one GOP defection on any party-line vote, assuming all members are present and voting, and absences can change that margin.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 19 Feb. 2026
The defection is another blow to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost the last election in April and even his own seat in Parliament, but has since rejoined the House of Commons.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Republicans, however, have a razor-thin majority and can only afford one defection during floor votes.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for defection
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defection
Noun
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For Pittsburghers, whose city had for so long been singularly defined by the production of steel, the idea that industrial competitiveness was not paramount bordered on apostasy.—
Christopher Briem,
The Conversation,
25 Mar. 2026
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This Lent is magnifying his apostasy like never before.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Ukraine appears to be facing a higher rate of desertion than Russia.—
Olivier Kempf,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Missile crews are reportedly reluctant to leave cover, desertions are increasing, refusals to obey orders are surfacing, and American and Israeli forces continue hunting launchers daily.—
Richard Goldberg,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The schism runs through a deceptively simple assumption.—
Paul M. Sutter,
Scientific American,
27 Mar. 2026
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The history of religion, with its thousands of schisms and reformations, is full of pilgrims who, rather than discard their relationship with their sacred text, have found purpose, clarity, and community through defiance.—
Séamas O'Reilly,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The approaching Easter holiday often means an increase in the purchase and gifting of live rabbits, and a resulting spike in abandonments.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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In spite of a seismic crossing of the technological Rubicon, an abandonment of the centuries-old deference to the naked eye, a codifying and calcifying of the most atomic-level building block of the sport, baseball mostly just looked like baseball.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The second major structural change involves one of the hallmarks of SARS-CoV-2 as compared to SARS-CoV-1: initial scission at the S1 furin cleavage site.—
William A. Haseltine,
Forbes,
6 May 2022
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Wilson cautions more work is needed to explain how exactly spin results after scission.—
Charles Q. Choi,
Scientific American,
24 Feb. 2021
Noun
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Burden’s family legacy was fractured by infidelity and a laissez faire attitude, at least in the public sphere, toward men behaving badly.—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
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During the documentary, the former couple also discussed Odom's infidelity.—
Ariana Quihuiz,
PEOPLE,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The stance aligns with China’s own sensitivities over sovereignty and separatism.—
Yinka Adegoke,
semafor.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Finding common ground In the 20th century, Black and white nationalists were able to find common ground on the topic of racial separatism.—
George Michael,
The Conversation,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Carl cautioned against a common misconception.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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The biggest misconception about microdramas, the panelists agreed, is who is consuming them.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defection.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defection. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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