1
as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
an apostate from communism, he later became one of its harshest critics
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
became an apostate to liberalism after he had gotten wealthy
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in renegade
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of apostate
Marc Tracy, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2025
The Islamic State group follows a hard-line version of Sunni Islam and considers Shiite Muslims to be apostates.
—Warren P. Strobel, arkansasonline.com, 26 Jan. 2025
The speech reflected his role in the campaign: an attack dog deployed most often to the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where the campaign believes its apostate of elite culture connects with the white working-class voters who may decide the election.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024
Many like him feel like these apostates among Tesla’s faithful have been little more than fair-weather friends of Musk.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for apostate
Adjective
Image Stone, 60, is that increasingly familiar figure in conservative life: an apostate from the mainstream, in recovery from her earlier liberalism.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2025
The Islamic State group follows a hard-line version of Sunni Islam and considers Shiite Muslims to be apostates.
—Warren P. Strobel, arkansasonline.com, 26 Jan. 2025
The speech reflected his role in the campaign: an attack dog deployed most often to the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where the campaign believes its apostate of elite culture connects with the white working-class voters who may decide the election.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024
Many like him feel like these apostates among Tesla’s faithful have been little more than fair-weather friends of Musk.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for apostate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostate
Noun
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Badghis and Faryab, along the line demarcating Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, are in particularly poor shape as deserters leave behind dwindling numbers of guards.—
George Gavrilis,
Foreign Affairs,
4 June 2015
-
Lincoln made frequent stops in the county and tried cases there as an attorney, according to the city, and Marshall was the site of an extended dispute during the Civil War involving Union Army deserters.—
John Tuohy,
IndyStar,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Such an admission would mean that his family would never be safe again, since they’d forever be associated with a traitor.—
Avi Asher-Schapiro,
ProPublica,
22 Aug. 2025
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The fort, which overlooks the Thames River, was the site of an 1781 massacre led by the infamous traitor Benedict Arnold.—
Ashley Craig,
Hartford Courant,
9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
There was something renegade about it, something deeply irreverent.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
1 Aug. 2025
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John Oliver, whose contract to host Last Week Tonight comes up next year, has continued to be a renegade voice within the ever-increasingly conservative Warner Bros Discovery family.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
18 July 2025
Noun
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Adapted from Chinese folklore, the film follows a boy named Ne Zha (Crystal Lee) who is born with demon-like powers and rebels against his hawk-eyed, human parents Lady Yin and Li Jing (Vincent Rodriguez III).—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
22 Aug. 2025
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Since January, thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the fighting between M23 rebels and the Congolese army.—
Jean Kaseya,
Time,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Such was the case this past weekend, when tens of millions of fans keyed in on the denouement of the college basketball season at the expense of lesser spectacles such as spring football and one notoriously schismatic pro golf startup.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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The potential members of a schismatic Catholic sect are located in areas of the world such as the United States, where the church has significant financial resources and assets, plus a wide array of independent Catholic institutions that operate largely outside the hierarchy of the church.—
Massimo Faggioli,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Oct. 2018
Noun
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But as the threat of insurgents has receded abroad, the Trump administration has brought these tactics home.—
Time,
Time,
8 Aug. 2025
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On the one hand, there is the prospect of insurgents who can field swarms of armed drones.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Jason, whose great-grandparents owned one of the most famous bakeries in Cuba, Lucerna, takes a nontraditional approach to this Cuban.—
Carlos Frías,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
19 Aug. 2025
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Financing a church renovation No matter the specific circumstances, buying a church that needs to be renovated to serve as a home will likely require nontraditional financing, according to people who spoke to USA TODAY.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In mid-July, after a recent spate of sectarian violence in Syria’s south, Israel launched airstrikes on Syrian government facilities in Damascus.—
Dalia Dassa Kaye,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Aug. 2025
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Over 1,500 Alawites were killed in sectarian violence during a 72-hour period in March, while July's Suwayda clashes left over 250 dead, exposing the fragility of Sharaa's promise to protect minorities.—
Güney Yıldız,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Apostate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostate. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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