as in to desert
to leave (a cause or party) often in order to take up another
soldiers defected from the rebel army en masse as the failure of their cause became apparent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect (from)
Verb
-
Burrowing owls are also desert dwellers and have adapted by digging burrows underground for nesting and shelter.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 May 2025 -
But as the match progressed, Djokovic – who turned 38 on Thursday – showed the kind of resolute determination which appeared to have deserted him of late, breaking Hurkacz four times in a tiebreak after each player had held serve throughout the second set.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
Verb
-
The property had been abandoned for about three years, according to Dawkins.—
Chase Jordan,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2025
-
Ford abandoned its stake in its robotaxi developer Argo.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
29 May 2025
Verb
-
Paramount is currently engaged in mediation talks with Trump’s attorneys, who recently rejected a $15 million settlement offer and threatened further litigation, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
30 May 2025
-
Brentford have rejected an offer of around €9million (£7.6m; $10.2m) from Bayer Leverkusen for their first-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken but negotiations are ongoing over a potential deal.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
The final week of the regular session left Democrats angry with Republicans over the majority party’s decision to cut off multiple filibusters.—
Jonathan Shorman,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2025
-
To do so, the EU could cut off the remaining imports of Russian pipeline gas and LNG.—
David McHugh,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Defect (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect%20%28from%29. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share