renegade

1 of 3

noun

ren·​e·​gade ˈre-ni-ˌgād How to pronounce renegade (audio)
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

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
The ballooning costs reflect the broken promises of crypto, a renegade industry that was pitched to amateur traders as a force for equality in the ultra-stratified world of high finance. Yiwen Lu, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023 Groove Cruise loves surprises, from guests to unannounced B2B and renegade parties. Kathleen Bruce, SPIN, 12 Feb. 2024 The garrison town established in the 1840s was once dominated by outlaws and renegades like gunslinger John King Fisher. Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024 Her pursuit of renegade brothers Henry and Sam (guest actor nominees Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Montreal Woodard) put her at cross purposes with Joel and Ellie to murderous consequences. Lanford Beard, Peoplemag, 7 Jan. 2024 Both a spin-off and a prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga follows the origin story of the fearless renegade (originally played by a shorn Charlize Theron, and this time by the great Anya Taylor-Joy), promises to be one of the best of the year. Patricia Karounos, refinery29.com, 29 Dec. 2023 Culture has always had room for renegades who tell inappropriate truths, stunning us with the kind of fearless candor that is first alarming, then funny, and then, ultimately, persuasive. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2023 But Tiny Desk offers the perfect venue to present himself as a genre-transcending renegade. Adlan Jackson, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023 Game of Thrones The depiction of two powerful families - kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and honest men - playing a deadly game for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and to sit atop the Iron Throne. Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Nov. 2023
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
Get ready to be bowled over by a renegade Wagon Wheel Watusi, because Christina Aguilera just delivered one of the most stunning celebrity Halloween costumes of the year. EW.com, 31 Oct. 2023 The dominant images in politics, however, were of tumult and trouble: A renegade House member heckling the president. Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023 The jokes seemed to provide the latest evidence that Hollywood has cooled on the renegade royal couple who were once set to take the entertainment industry by storm with their media mogul aspirations. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 11 Jan. 2024 The Burkinabe military is floundering in the face of a surge in Islamist militancy, with renegade factions controlling more than half the country. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023 The first issue Production of the magazine, starting with its maiden issue in February 1969, was a proudly renegade operation. Timothy R. Smith, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023 The Boys follows a group of celebrity superheroes who abuse their powers for their own selfish gains and a renegade group of outlaws who are trying to bring them down. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Nov. 2023 The film follows a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy who arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun, disturbing the delicately balanced world. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Sep. 2023 Many of the renegade directors self-destructed in a blaze of coke and ego, or joined the counter-revolution of the blockbuster eighties. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023

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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of renegade was circa 1611

Dictionary Entries Near renegade

Cite this Entry

“Renegade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/renegade. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

renegade

1 of 2 noun
ren·​e·​gade ˈren-i-ˌgād How to pronounce renegade (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on renegade

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!