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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect (from)
Verb
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In California, the warning is in effect for southeastern counties, with temperatures forecast to reach 111 F in Indian Wells Valley; and 115 F in Coachella Valley and San Diego County deserts.—
Matthew Robinson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Aug. 2025 -
Once again, Liverpool’s end at the national stadium was long since deserted.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Police found her car abandoned on the side of Bluegrass Parkway in Nelson County a few days later with her keys, phone and purse inside.—
Killian Baarlaer,
The Courier-Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
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The lack of parking is made worse by drivers who leave large commercial trucks or work vans abandoned on neighboring streets, often taking up multiple parking spaces, Lopez said.—
Alyssa N. Salcedo,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After twice rejecting Trump, Nevadans ousted a Democratic governor in 2022 and helped Trump back to the White House in 2024.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Evers himself rejected Underly’s request to repeal a state law requiring teachers to pass the Foundations of Reading Test to obtain certain teaching licenses.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The federal education department cut off that grant in February.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Although Akazawa has claimed that levies will be cut off at 15% rather than added on top of current rates, an executive order released last week indicated that the 15% cut off applied only to the European Union and would not be implemented for Japan.—
Sakura Murakami,
Fortune,
6 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defect (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect%20%28from%29. Accessed 15 Aug. 2025.
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