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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of apostates 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostates
  1. deserters
  2. traitors
  3. renegades
  4. rebels
  5. insurgents
Noun
  • And within his own country’s history, particularly, Dhont discovered the fates that met would-be deserters who were caught — brutal sentences often leading to death.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
  • Harry Truman granted amnesty to certain World War II deserters, while Jimmy Carter granted pardons to hundreds of thousands of individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.
    — Stewart Ulrich, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
Definition of deserters
Noun
  • Each season, The Traitors brings together a group of people for a game of deceit, separating the cast into faithfuls and traitors who must try to figure out who is who.
    — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The Traitors is lining up its next group of faithfuls and traitors.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of traitors
Noun
  • In some ways, there is a strange kind of unity to these three—all are set during the Depression, all feature stylish renegades.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • There are Sixties rock bands like the Sonics and the Small Faces, and pioneering hippie renegades like Love or the Thirteenth Floor Elevators.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026
Definition of renegades
Noun
  • Today, the challenges facing the continent include a humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, a spate of kidnappings and killings in Nigeria, and conflict between rebels and government forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
    — Goodluck Ajeh, Christian Science Monitor, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The charges stemmed from fighting more than a decade ago between the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels who seized power from then-President François Bozizé, and a mainly Christian militia called the anti-Balaka.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebels
Noun
  • International sanctions persisted, and PF’s ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents continued their liberation war.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Rancho libertarians, like their Scotch-Irish cousins from another mother, are forever skeptical of government, respect insurgents who want to take on the establishment, love their people and subscribe to a bootstraps approach to life.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of insurgents

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apostates
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Cite this Entry

“Apostates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostates. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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