APOSTATIZE Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

apostatize

verb

Definition of apostatize

as in to renounce

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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 apostatize The conundrum is one that has nothing to do with Rodrigues’ decision whether to lay down his life, but with his reluctance to apostatize, even in the face of others’ deaths. — Michael O'Sullivan, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2017 In one of the more powerful sequences, three older men are hung from crosses positioned deep in the ocean’s waters — the thrashing waves killing them slowly for their refusal to apostatize. — Lindsey Bahr, Orange County Register, 6 Jan. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostatize

Verb

Spiritually, His Holiness is an emanation, or tulku, of the bodhisattva Chenrezig, who renounced nirvana to help mankind.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 July 2026
What follows are dozens of examples of how those whose names are familiar (or aren’t) and legendary (or infamous) for their actions while representing the state have been embraced (or renounced) by the rest of the country and beyond.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

Definition of renounce

Verb

Ultimately, that comeback success was enough to get a show that the Emmys had previously forsaken back on their radar, cementing its return to form.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 July 2026
Anguished and alone, Nick is similarly cast away, seemingly cursed to spend the rest of his days forsaken in his hometown, now a foreign land.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Definition of forsake

Verb

What’s troubling to me, besides the obvious, is the insistence on finding a way to continue to eat animals if your body starts to reject them.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
Energy and shipping companies have loudly rejected a similar idea from Iran, under which ships would pay a toll in order to pass through the critical waterway.

— Steve Kopack, NBC news, 13 July 2026

Definition of reject

Verb

In 1984, siblings Ramon, Ricard and Elvira were abandoned in a Barcelona train station with no luggage, no identification and no information about their family.

— Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
The government is somewhere in the middle – approving emergency AC units for hospitals while trying not to be seen as abandoning France’s insulation-first approach to heat.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 7 July 2026

Definition of abandon

Browse Nearby Words

apostates

apostatize

apostatized

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“Apostatize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostatize. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of apostatize

verb

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