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

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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 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
  • In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
  • Those who opposed the coup, like Tom Keith's grandfather, are still often thought of as traitors, just as his distant relatives are.
    — Lee Cowan, CBS News, 12 July 2026
Definition of traitors
Noun
  • In short, this list reminded me that our radicals and renegades are the best thing about this great nation.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 July 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
  • Yemen's military said the rebels targeted both the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones, but did not provide further details.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The clash, which occurred on Monday in the Sakaba council area of Kebbi state, also left two civilians and 17 of the rebels dead, police spokesperson Bashir Usman said in a statement.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of rebels
Noun
  • Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2014.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Tuesday’s primaries refused to settle into one of the storylines written in the weeks after Colorado’s primaries, where insurgents in both parties wildly overperformed.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of insurgents

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Cite this Entry

“Apostates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostates. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of apostates for Spanish Speakers

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