ren·e·gade | \ ˈre-ni-ˌgād 
\
\Definition of renegade
(Entry 1 of 3)
1 : a deserter from one faith, cause, or allegiance to another
2 : an individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior
renegade
verbrenegaded; renegading
Definition of renegade (Entry 2 of 3)
: to become a renegade
renegade
adjectiveDefinition of renegade (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : having deserted a faith, cause, or religion for a hostile one
2 : having rejected tradition : unconventional
Keep scrolling for more
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 But Little Red Riding Hood, renegade princesses, and latter-day Joan of Arcs aren’t only to be found on the magazine’s glossy pages.
—
Laird Borrelli-persson, Vogue, "For Dreamers, 48 Fashion Fantasies From the Vogue Runway Archive," 1 Jan. 2021 Activists have long complained that Pride has strayed from its renegade roots to become a commercial, family-friendly, civic celebration.
—
Stephanie Ebbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Boycott Boston Pride, say activists who bolted for social justice," 29 Dec. 2020 Over the past year, Libya has experienced its most violent era since the revolution, triggered by an offensive on Tripoli in April 2019 by renegade commander Khalifa Hifter, who is aligned with the eastern authorities.
—
Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, "Libya’s warring sides reach permanent cease-fire. U.N. calls it ‘historic.’," 23 Oct. 2020 Mahon and all the other wardens in the area knew the renegade outfitter was Mike Milam, of Bakersfield.
—
Hal Herring, Field & Stream, "F&S Classics: Takedown," 27 Dec. 2020 With skateboarding now an Olympic event and the number of skate parks on the rise, a sport long seen as renegade has become decidedly mainstream.
—
Kevin Armstrong, New York Times, "Why Cities Are Finally Showing Skateboarders Some Respect," 17 Nov. 2020 Bottom-heavy but light on her feet, the forty-five-year-old Rainey is a renegade, with long, sharply drawn eyebrows and a layer of too much shine on her face.
—
Hilton Als, The New Yorker, "Reimagining August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” on the Small Screen," 14 Dec. 2020 With a cascade of white and yellow diamonds in an encyclopedic variety of cuts and sizes, these dangling earrings conjure the informal, unpretentious warp and weft that captured the designer’s renegade imagination so many years ago.
—
New York Times, "Glittering High Jewelry, Inspired by Tweed," 2 Dec. 2020 Videos tagged #renegade have been viewed 2.2 billion times.
—
Rachel Monroe, The Atlantic, "98 Million TikTok Followers Can’t Be Wrong," 20 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb However, celebrities’ kids should feel free to renegade with the best of them, and apparently 6-year-old North West is doing just that.
—
Kathryn Lindsay, refinery29.com, "Oh My God, North West Has A Secret TikTok," 10 Feb. 2020 Groark was persuaded to join Lowell P. Weicker Jr.’s renegade A Connecticut Party in 1990 and served one term as lieutenant governor before launching a losing bid for governor in 1994.
—
Matthew Kauffman, courant.com, "Former Lt. Gov. Eunice Groark Dies at 80," 9 May 2018 Reporters are notoriously averse to collective action and their employers are notoriously averse to renegade employees.
—
Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "The White House Press, Like Other D.C. Institutions, Is Broken," 19 June 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Taiwan is a sensitive issue for China's ruling Communist Party, which considers the self-governing island of 23.6 million people a renegade province that should be brought under its rule.
—
Ken Moritsugu, ajc, "Chinese state media blast latest Pompeo move on Taiwan," 10 Jan. 2021 But there was something so surprisingly renegade about the movie’s smooch.
—
Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, "Better Than Besties: Why Gay Holiday Films Matter," 18 Dec. 2020 Turkey had intervened in the Libyan civil war in 2019 on behalf of the government based in the capital, Tripoli, aiming to counter the United Arab Emirates, a regional rival of Turkey that was supporting a renegade Libyan general.
—
Washington Post, "Turkey’s military campaign beyond its borders powered by homemade armed drones," 29 Nov. 2020 China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and vociferously objects to any attempts to place it on an equal footing.
—
Stephanie Lai, Los Angeles Times, "Some Taiwanese immigrants fear Biden will ‘Make China Great Again.’ Can he win them over?," 1 Dec. 2020 Chinese authorities regard Taiwan as a renegade province governed by separatists, but authorities in Taipei are heir to the government that was overthrown in the Chinese Communist revolution and took refuge on the island.
—
Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, "China fumes after extraordinary leak exposes secret US military visit to Taiwan," 23 Nov. 2020 In Libya, Russian mercenaries fought alongside renegade Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter.
—
Washington Post, "In Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, Russia’s Putin claims a strategic win. But risks are attached.," 20 Nov. 2020 To do otherwise would risk the prospect of outraged Democrats capturing the Senate in 2022 on a platform of reining in a renegade Supreme Court, and the court-packing debate starting anew.
—
Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Supreme Court Is in Charge Now," 13 Nov. 2020 The move is likely to infuriate China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has reacted angrily to previous weapons sales' announcements to the island.
—
NBC News, "China says U.S. sends out 'wrong signals' to Taiwan on proposed drone sale," 4 Nov. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'renegade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for renegade
renegade
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of renegade
: a person who leaves one group, religion, etc., and joins another that opposes it
: someone or something that causes trouble and cannot be controlled
See the full definition for renegade in the English Language Learners Dictionary
renegade
nounren·e·gade | \ ˈre-ni-ˌgād \
\Kids Definition of renegade
1 : a person who deserts a faith, cause, or party
2 : a person who does not obey rules
“They were renegades who thought they had permission to steal from the rich …”— Pam Muñoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on renegade
What made you want to look up renegade? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Slippery Words Quiz—Changing with the Times
- What is an earlier meaning of nice?
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Spell words. Make bears.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share renegade
Time Traveler for renegade
The first known use of renegade was circa 1611
See more words from the same year