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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Extreme heat and drought are putting new pressures on wildlife in Arizona, even species that have adapted to desert conditions over thousands of years.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025 -
The Elevated Velocity has modes for interior comfort and different kinds of travel, from hands-free relaxation to desert racing.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The city and its neighborhoods seemed abandoned, except for the occasional roving pack of rescue workers or out-of-town law enforcement.—
Mandi Wright,
Freep.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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And many of Georgia's battery manufacturing prospects have already abandoned ship earlier this year.—
Jillian Magtoto,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Tennessee currently has around 60,000 active personalized plates and has rejected nearly 1,000 since the program began in 1998.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
1 Sep. 2025
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The Athletic reported on August 20 that Brentford had turned down a Newcastle bid worth £35million plus a potential £5m more in difficult-to-achieve add-ons, after rejecting their £25m offer in July.—
Leon Imber,
New York Times,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Pre-order offers officially run until September 12, but Deluxe Edition-specific bonuses will likely cut off a day earlier, based on past years.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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The White House cut off billions of Harvard’s federal dollars, then tried to block the school’s ability to enroll international students, who for the last four years have made up more than a fourth of the student body.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 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 5 Sep. 2025.
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