renegade

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noun ren·e·gade \ ˈre-ni-ˌgād \

Definition of renegade

1 :a deserter from one faith, cause, or allegiance to another

2 :an individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior

See renegade defined for English-language learners

See renegade defined for kids

Examples of renegade in a Sentence

renegades from the Republican Party
stories about pirates and renegades on the high seas

Recent Examples of renegade from the Web

But this week’s reporting paints a new nightmare scenario for congressional Republicans — one in which a renegade president compounds the political costs of their legislative failures by sabotaging the economy, just before the midterm elections.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Seems to Genuinely Want a Trade War With China," 29 Aug. 2017
The commission is the U.S. branch of a binational agency charged with monitoring and reporting any renegade flows into the Tijuana River channel.

— sandra dibble, latimes.com, "Cross-border sewage spill? No, the flow came from the U.S. side," 28 Aug. 2017
A new renegade style was born, and today some Super Tuscans are among the most sought-after and expensive wines produced in Italy.

— michael austin, chicagotribune.com, "What you need to know about sangiovese, Italy's biggest-selling grape," 24 Aug. 2017
A federal jury in Las Vegas on Tuesday returned verdicts of not guilty for four men accused of numerous charges for acting as gunmen in a 2014 standoff led by renegade rancher Cliven Bundy against federal authorities.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Bundy followers found not guilty at Nevada trial," 23 Aug. 2017
Astrologically, a prominent Uranus gives one a renegade, iconoclastic and unpredictable nature.

— rebecca gordon, Harper's BAZAAR, "What the Upcoming Eclipse Means for Donald Trump and His Presidency," 10 Aug. 2017
Willard must push through the physical and psychological morass that is the Vietnam War in search of Marlon Brando’s renegade Col.

— chris kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "The best Baltimore-area events this week: Big Glen Burnie Carnival, Baltimore Restaurant Week and Trifecta Food Truck Festival," 23 July 2017
In apparent protest of the award, a group of Chinese business and cultural leaders established an alternative to the Nobel, the Confucius Peace Prize, and later honored such human rights renegades as Vladimir Putin, Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe.

— harrison smith, Alaska Dispatch News, "Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize laureate imprisoned in China, dies at 61," 13 July 2017
His impulse, at least judging by the patterns of conservative governance in America recently, quite likely would be to call upon the governor and the Texas legislature to impose some good conservative policy on the renegade liberals from above.

— max bloom, National Review, "Let Liberal Cities Do What They Want," 13 July 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of renegade

Spanish renegado, from Medieval Latin renegatus, from past participle of renegare to deny, from Latin re- + negare to deny — more at negate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1611

See Words from the same year

renegade Synonyms

Synonyms

apostate, defector, deserter, recreant

Antonyms

loyalist

Related Words

betrayer, double-crosser, quisling, traitor, traitress (or traitoress), turnabout, turncoat; abandoner, come-outer, dropout, leaver; defier, insurgent, insurrectionary, insurrectionist, mutineer, rebel, red, revolter, revolutionary, revolutionist, revolutionizer; discontent, malcontent; recusant, refusenik (also refusnik), refuser

Near Antonyms

adherent, disciple, follower, supporter; fanatic, militant, partisan (also partizan), zealot

renegade

verb

Definition of renegade

renegaded; renegading

intransitive verb

:to become a renegade

Recent Examples of renegade from the Web

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

First Known Use of renegade

circa 1611

renegade

adjective

Definition of renegade

1 :having deserted a faith, cause, or religion for a hostile one

2 :having rejected tradition :unconventional

Recent Examples of renegade from the Web

AP While most Republicans were putting out party line statements supporting President Trump's new Afghanistan policy, renegade Republican Rep. Thomas Massie was going rogue on Twitter.

— carl weiser, Cincinnati.com, "NKY's GOP Rep. Thomas Massie rips Trump Afghan policy in Tweetstorm," 22 Aug. 2017
Los Angeles officials will begin cracking down next week on a wave of renegade parking across the city, more than five years after first turning a blind eye to the practice.

— laura j. nelson, latimes.com, "Parking on an L.A. parkway? Prepare to be ticketed," 9 Aug. 2017
Sheldon was concerned that renegade Liberal Sen. Dean Smith had proposed a bill this week that allowed people who did not identify as either a man or woman to marry.

— Washington Post, "Australian official says gay marriage could be law this year," 7 Aug. 2017
The Chinese government considers Taiwan a renegade province.

— nick turner, Bloomberg.com, "Starbucks to Buy Out Chinese Venture in Its Biggest Deal Yet," 27 July 2017
Hopefully, someday, some renegade Republican will be bold enough make McCain’s dream of a properly functioning Senate a reality.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "McCain Didn’t Really Vote for a Health Bill He Railed Against — But His ‘Yes’ Was Still Bizarre," 26 July 2017
The senator’s underdog campaign had an irreverent, renegade style that charmed the public and captivated the media.

— craig gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "As Arizona senator battles cancer, a look back at a very John McCain moment," 24 July 2017
China considers self-governing democratic Taiwan a renegade province and Beijing has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its rule.

— ryan browne, CNN, "US approves first arms sale to Taiwan under Trump," 29 June 2017
The Palace is also fictionally owned by Chuck Bass's (Ed Westwick's) family, and is where the show's renegade rich boy spends his nights.

— raisa bruner, Time, "7 Famous TV Homes You Can Actually Live In Right Now," 20 June 2017

First Known Use of renegade

1636

RENEGADE Defined for English Language Learners

renegade

play

noun

Definition of renegade for English Language Learners

: a person who leaves one group, religion, etc., and joins another that opposes it
: someone or something that causes trouble and cannot be controlled

RENEGADE Defined for Kids

renegade

play

noun ren·e·gade \ ˈre-ni-ˌgād \

Definition of renegade for Students

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

Learn More about renegade

See words that rhyme with renegade Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for renegade Spanish Central: Translation of renegade Nglish: Translation of renegade for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of renegade for Arabic speakers

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renegade

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