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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Ironman races are held in locations around the world, from coastal cities to desert landscapes.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025 -
The second and third matches are due to be played on Friday and Sunday, but the luck of the Irish may desert them with those grey skies in Dublin.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The floater that has been such a huge part of his game abandoned him.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Twenty years prior to the present day of the movie, Ray Stoker (Day-Lewis) abandoned his family to live off the grid in a hut in the woods after a scarring incident during the conflict, which pitted Catholics against Protestants within Northern Ireland, and union loyalists against republicans.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The letter also called for the return of mandatory standardized testing in university admissions and for universities to report the anonymous scores and grades of accepted and rejected students.—
Helen Rummel,
AZCentral.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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In a June ruling, a three-judge Kansas Court of Appeals panel rejected Kobach’s arguments in no uncertain terms.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Many girls and women have turned to online education being offered by organizations in other countries, but the nationwide blackout now cuts off their access to that, too.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
30 Sep. 2025
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The oppressive rule has led to nations cutting off aid, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
30 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 8 Oct. 2025.
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