Synonyms of apostates

apostates

noun

plural of apostate

1

as in deserters

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

• deserters
• traitors
• renegades
• rebels
• insurgents
• defectors
• revolutionaries
• turncoats
• quislings
• betrayers
• insurrectionists
• mutineers
• leavers
• revolters
• recreants
• revolutionists
• discontents
• defiers
• turnabouts
• double-crossers
• dropouts
• recusants
• abandoners
• refusers
• reds
• insurrectionaries
• refuseniks
• malcontents
• traitresses
• come-outers
• revolutionizers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• followers
• disciples
• adherents
• supporters
• loyalists
• militants
• partisans
• fanatics
• zealots

2

as in traitors

one who betrays a trust or an allegiance

became an apostate to liberalism after he had gotten wealthy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• traitors
• turncoats
• betrayers
• quislings
• Judases
• serpents
• backstabbers
• snakes
• double-crossers
• subversives
• renegades
• conspirators
• collaborators
• collaborationists
• deserters
• double-dealers
• subverters
• informers
• plotters
• intriguers
• informants
• defectors
• schemers
• sellouts
• coconspirators
• accommodationists
• recreants
• gossipers
• talkers
• tattlers
• snitches
• rumormongers
• squealers
• gossipmongers
• gossips
• tattletales
• rats
• stool pigeons
• blabbermouths
• telltales
• snitchers
• talebearers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of apostates

Cornelius’s pontificate was complicated by a schism, caused by the self-appointment of the Roman priest Novatian as antipope (the second in papal history) and by the dispute over the church’s attitude toward Christian apostates. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Many members of today’s professional class are apostates, and this apostasy is worth taking seriously as a sign of an economic order that cannot seem to justify itself to its own public-relations arm. — Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026

This documentary, featuring interviews with apostates, looks like a compelling deep dive. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026

Brown and O’Neill cast themselves less as Sandberg’s heirs than as her apostates. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

In Iran, Baha’is are considered to be apostates and face persecution, marked by extreme violence including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention. — Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025