as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
the defector demanded political asylum in exchange for information about his nation's spying operations
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defector
Noun
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An escaped convict teams up with his Italian buddy and an army deserter to plan a spectacular bank robbery, looting a U.S. military base for the necessary firepower.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Feb. 2025 -
The love story of a Confederate deserter (Jude Law) journeying back to his North Carolina home and his love (Nicole Kidman) drives the Civil War drama.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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There are people in the government who qualify for the term traitor.—
Letters to the Editor,
Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2025
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Clearly, curator Samantha Johnston, who also happens to be CPAC’s executive director, is playing the traitor here by engaging with artists whose main tools are prompts, entered into programs, which generate images based on billions of data sets stored digitally around the globe.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
The Denver Post,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Sports Illustrated even called for UM to disband what was seen then as a renegade football program led by a coach playing by his own rules.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2025
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Some have held him up as a renegade, choosing freedom over the comforts of domestic life.—
Rick Rojas,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Ooh, rendezvous with the hot rebel in the forest! 50.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2025
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Aiding the princess is a band of rebels led by the dashing Jonathan (Tony winner Andrew Burnap).—
Patrick Gomez,
EW.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The sniper gun is peering through an eight-inch-wide hole blasted into the wall, and the insurgents, having figured out that the Americans are in there, toss a grenade through the hole.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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Warfare plots, in real time, a surveillance mission in Ramadi gone awry when nearby Al Qaeda insurgents detonate a series of IEDs outside a housing building which the team has taken over.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defector. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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